The Diamond Coven
by geiney
Summary: Geiney, Luz, and Sara, the Cuentas siblings, must defend themselves against a new threat in five mysterious color-coded villains while balancing their private lives.
1. The Diamond Ones

**Chapter 1: The Diamond Ones**

Geiney made his way back to his house that cold, windy night. He shuddered as he tried to fight back the cold he was feeling as he ran the block to his house. Holding his hood to not be blown away by the strong winds, he finally managed to reach the porch where he dramatically opened the door calling out, "Here's Johnny!" Shivering, he closed the door and unwrapped himself from the bindings of his jacket. He cursed himself for not creating a wind shield around him, an unfortunate habit of his whenever he rushed somewhere in a storm. He put his jacket on the coat hangers next to another jacket, belonging to one of his sisters.

"Luz, Sara? Anyone home?" He called out, awaiting an answer.

After a moment, a familiar voice replied, "In the kitchen, Geiney!"

He glanced at himself in the mirror next to the front door. His hair was sticking out in some places, due to the heavy winds that had whipped him. His brown eyes held a tear drop from his constant squinting against the winds and his cheeks were flushed, and felt cold to the touch. He shivered, just looking at his reflection made him feel even colder. He wiped the tears from his eyes and rubbed his cheeks, trying to bring back the heat he had lost during the battle against the wind.

Geiney entered the hallway and turned left at the first opening, where the kitchen was located. He looked around and saw the familiar shape of Luz, with her back turned to him as she cooked dinner. Thankfully, they still had power in their home. Unlike his unlucky friend who he just managed to escape from.

"You're late." Luz said, sprinkling salt into the pot she was cooking in, her movements as deft as any expert. Luz had silky black hair that fell to her shoulder and parted on either side so that her bangs covered her ears. She had a short nose and bright colored lips. Her cheeks bore a rosy color and her brown eyes seemed to sparkle. She wore a pearl necklace and a white blouse with loose jeans. She was staring intently at the pot, as if waiting for the right moment to add some spice to the concoction.

"I didn't think I was going to be that late. Blame Alice, she lost power and wouldn't let go of me. Literally. Have you seen my scratch marks?" He lifted his shirt and exposed his back where there were some diagonal cuts going down his back. There was some dry blood on his flesh and Luz only giggled at the sight of his back.

"Aw, how cute! You got yourself a girlfriend!" She laughed. Not finding his predicament funny, Geiney rolled his eyes.

"More like she got herself a nail filer. Seriously though, they shredded me like tissue paper!" He flopped down at the counter in front of his sister, not diverting her attention from the pot. She dipped a ladle in the pot, and blew on the contents of the ladle before taste testing it. "The soup's almost done. Ailyn should be bringing Sara here soon. Would you set the table, please?" Geiney nodded and grabbed the silverware from a nearby drawer.

"So where did Sara go anyways? She said she was only going to gather some potion ingredients, but she didn't say where." Geiney asked.

"She went with Ailyn to grab some eye of newt from South America, and Ailyn left to grab some Whitelighters' essence for our potion, the one for our weapons, and a few other ingredients. I thought she would get it from Chinatown but it shouldn't take her this long."

"I thought we had some left over from the last batch we made. It was next to our potion vials." Geiney commented as he set the silverware down. Fork first, knife second with the blade facing the fork, then the spoon after that. Though he was only fifteen, Geiney prided himself in his etiquette.

"No, I gave the last of it to a witch I met at the magical shop. I gave her the recipe we use for ours and she said it would come in handy when she's battling demons. She seemed excited about it." She turned off the stove and brought out the glasses and placed them on each table setting.

Just then, they saw a flash of light and orbs surrounding two rays of light as two people materialized from the light. Geiney recognized them immediately and beamed at the return of the two women.

The woman on the left, who removed her hand from the other woman, greeted the two people in the kitchen. She had blond hair which was combed at the front but hung loosely behind her. She wore a spiked choker which fit nicely with her black spaghetti strap blouse, tight ripped jeans, and black painted finger nails. Hanging from her chest was a black chain with a heart pendant that had her name engraved; Ailyn. She called her style, "blending in with society".

The woman on the right wore dirty blond hair and wore a red V cut blouse with well fitted jeans. Her blouse' sleeves were short and showed off her smooth arm. Around her neck hung a small gold heart shaped pendant with her name, "Sara". Her fingernails were painted with a red color which held a glossy finish. On her ring finger, she had a plain golden ring with a flat diamond engraving and a small polished diamond which gleamed in the light of the room.

"Ailyn, Sara, Welcome back." Geiney greeted, smiling widely at the two women who just orbed into their kitchen.

"Sorry we're late. Ailyn wanted to stop in the middle of nowhere just to pick up some flowers." Sara said, sitting down at an empty spot at the table.

"It isn't just any flowers, they were Dahlias. And unlike Mexico, they're not as common here. Of course, you wouldn't know where we were at anyways because you have no sense in direction." Ailyn retorted, sitting down across from Sara.

"I do not have a bad sense of direction." She defended herself.

"You got lost on the city bus! You couldn't read the direction the bus was taking?" Ailyn replied, earning laughter from Geiney. Geiney was about to add to the statement but a cold look from Sara silenced him. Instead, he opted to grab a pitcher of water for the table.

"Alright, you two. That's enough. I don't want any blood spilled in my kitchen." Luz chuckled, bringing to the table two bowls at a time filled with soup, still steaming. Everyone thanked Luz before dining in. Geiney gladly joined them, bringing his own bowl of soup to the table.

"So do we have more Whitelighter essence in stock?" Geiney started the conversation.

"We do. Now all we have to do is wait for a demon to attack." Ailyn said.

"Please, don't jinx it." Luz sternly said.

"Oh, come on, Luz. It would be fun to fight demons again. I get to finally use my powers on them."

Sara knew that Luz was really delicate with the subject of fighting demons, so instead of letting Luz reply, she spoke up, "Hey, have your powers grown? Have you learned to control them yet?"

"Yeah, more or less. Ailyn is still helping me with the training. If I concentrate, I can create a Windball. I already know how to summon the Wind Shield at ease." Geiney informed them, taking a spoonful of soup to his mouth.

"Yeah, the tyke has gotten better. Still needs help aiming though." Ailyn said, waving an empty spoon at Geiney who stuck out his tongue at her.

"Well, that's good. Can't have you running around with an active power you can't control. That's no fun." Sara said.

"So Sara, how's that project going for the health product company- uh, what was their name again?" Luz asked, turning her head towards Sara.

"HealthyLife. And we finally have all the models we need to start shooting the commercial scheduled in two days. I'll be there to help. Then I have to edit the shots, which will take at least a few weeks. After that, we compile it together and show it to the HealthyLife marketers and the President, and they decide whether or not to air it." She replied.

"Has anyone ever asked to redo the commercial?" Ailyn asked, with soup in her mouth.

"No. And that's what makes us good at what we do. However, that also puts pressure on everyone to work even harder."

"Well, you have to keep your reputation up, otherwise people get canned. Am I right?" Geiney chimed in, to which Sara nodded.

"Once editing starts, I'll be working late. But you can always find me on either my cell phone or office line." She added.

Geiney finished his soup, thanked Luz for the meal, and excused himself to his room.

"Where are you going?" Luz asked him.

"Meditation, I have to get better at aiming."

"Don't break any… more windows," Sara warned.

"I can't promise anything." He said as he walked out. Ailyn shook her head and rolling her eyes.

"That boy is going to end up a trouble maker." Ailyn said matter of factly.

"He already is." Luz confirmed, and Sara started a new conversation about a client that she managed to recruit. The client was a fifteen year old teenager who sang like an angel. The girl was singing to herself an emotional song that caught Sara's attention one day as she was jogging. She immediately convinced the girl to visit the studio where she worked and even gave her a card. The next day, the girl asked for a meeting that afternoon and she captivated Sara's music producer. The girl's name was Ann Shannon and Sara, ecstatic about this girl's talent, spoke wonderfully about her as Luz and Ailyn listened intently. The night went on and it was finally time for everyone to rest up for the next day.

Ailyn went up to check up on Geiney, climbing the stairs and turning to the right to his bedroom. She found Geiney already asleep in his bed. His body sprawled out on the bed. Ailyn couldn't stop a smile which crept onto her face. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but she decided to help him out. Concentrating on the sleeping young man, bright white orbs surrounded his entire body. As if immaterial, they flowed under the covers, where Geiney materialized with the orbs dissipating into nothing. Geiney moaned but offered no other evidence that he had woken up. Ailyn shut off the lights and closed his bedroom door.

She walked back downstairs to where Luz was, and found her finishing up the dishes.

"Where's Sara?" She asked, stepping into view.

"She went to shower, since she has a big day tomorrow."

"You know there is someone killing witches out there, right?" She saw Luz visibly flinch, and a pause before Luz sighed.

"Yeah, I know."

"Luz, the boy is excited about demon hunting but he isn't aware of the full danger of it. He needs all of us to be there for him when the time comes. You can't keep him from his destiny, nor can you run away from yours." Luz dried her hands on the towel that hung next to the window sill.

"Ailyn, Sara and I didn't have a good experience learning to be witches and I don't want that for Geiney."

"He doesn't have to. You haven't been teaching him the way you were taught. You're teaching him the way you would've wanted to be taught." Luz nodded.

"I don't know if he's ready."

"The Elders seem to think he is. Don't you trust me?" Luz turned her head sharply as if she was insulted by the question.

"Of course I trust you!" Ailyn took Luz's hands in hers, her cold wet hands felt slippery in hers.

"Then trust me when I tell you that Geiney is ready." The smile Ailyn made to comfort Luz was welcoming as Luz embraced her Whitelighter, or what she knew as a Guardian Angel. Ailyn winked at her, and for a moment lost her smile as she looked up. Luz frowned and looked up as well, remembering that being a Whitelighter meant that she had the ability to telepathically communicate with the Elders, the beings that protect and watch over the Whitelighters.

"What? Is it that important?" Ailyn said, who went quiet for a moment, "I understand. I will be there soon." She turned to Luz, giving her a frown, "The Elders say that another witch has just been killed, and they want me to investigate."

"Okay, but just be careful." Ailyn smiled, and stepped back.

"You know that's my line, right?" She winked and waved goodbye, orbs surrounding her body until they floated upwards, and teleporting Ailyn to "the heavens" as she sometimes referred it.

Luz, as if in a daze, walked aimlessly around the house until she caught her reflection in the mirror by the living room. She sighed as she looked at her sad, fearful and worried eyes. In her eyes reflected the events of the night she arrived home, the night she lost her boyfriend, Brandon. She walked in her house to find a cloaked figure holding an Athame blade. They were ceremonial knives used by witches to direct energy. Just thinking of the snakelike blade brought shivers to Luz's spine, especially when it was still dripping with her boyfriend's warm blood. She gasped, and when she couldn't hold anymore air in her lungs, let out a blood curling scream. The cloaked figure spun around and Luz, consumed by her fury, tried to send the cloaked figure to a nearby wall but instead, the figure only shifted, unbalanced to a new position. She drew her hand back and in a smooth, flashy movement drew the gun that she carried behind her back, aimed and fired the entire magazine into his being. All but one bullet out of the seven hit their mark in his body. The creature let out a deep growl, as if coming from a lion, and shimmered out of the house and back into the depths of whatever hell from where it had come from.

She raced to Brandon and screamed out Ailyn's name repeatedly. She already knew the mortality of the wounds he had received and knew that he was already dead by now, but she would not believe herself. Ailyn arrived with bright orbs surrounding her, and gasped at the sight of Luz's boyfriend, bloodied and limp on the ground. She had tried for the life of her to bring him back, but it was no use. Her glowing hands ceased to glow and Luz let out a heart shattering wail as she banged her fists against her boyfriend's chest. Ailyn closed her eyes and let out the tears that had build up in the wells of her eyes.

After finally finding some sense of calming down, she closed his still opened eyes, and communicated to the Elders that a mortal, Brandon, had died, killed by a demon. Ailyn called the police and gave them her account, but Luz wouldn't respond to anyone.

That's when Sara and Geiney had arrived at the scene... She shook the memory from her mind and wiped the tears that had fallen down her face. She sniffed and wrapped her arms around herself as she walked upstairs to her room.

Unbeknownst to her, outside stood a lone figure wearing a full cloak, watching her from outside, the strong wind not fazing him in the slightest. Its eyes followed her to the other room where she disappeared. It fingered the crooked blade, blood still dripping onto the ground below it at its side. It gave off a sneer as it walked off down the street. "It's almost time." It growled and disappeared around the corner of the street.

Morning had arrived, and Geiney walked downstairs to see Sara cooking breakfast with Luz at her side. Ailyn was already there, watching the news intently.

"This is the third murder in the last three weeks. There is some concern for women all over the Valentine. The perpetrator, however, seems to only go after single women, between the ages of twenty and thirty, and who live alone." There were flashes of light from the cameras that were capturing the Police Sargeant as he rambled through the facts on the current case, a solemn, stern face on the television.

"Morning!" Geiney announced. He received a chorus of greetings from everyone and went to the fridge to pour himself a glass of orange juice. He drank a sip noticing that Ailyn was leaning forward on the table, eyes glued to the television and a look of total concentration on her face.

"Ailyn, don't fall into the TV!" Geiney exclaimed, making Ailyn jump in surprise.

"Stop scaring people." She muttered as he walked over and examined the report on the television.

"We are doing the best we can, but we have yet to come up with any leads at this current time." The police Sergeant, Robert, scowled, annoyed that he hadn't gotten any leads. He just wanted to retire in peace, but he couldn't abandon the force when it needed him most.

"This is Kyle Donie, reporting in."

"These murders aren't being done by any random John Doe. Someone's killing Witches." Ailyn spoke with authority. The kitchen became silent. Luz didn't look up from the kitchen counter, but everyone did notice the slight flinch she had made. Geiney and Sara both stared at Ailyn as she stood up from the table.

"Luz, it is time. The Elders want us to be prepared in case this demon attacks. I found out that this demon kills witches from well-respected covenants like the Celtic Crosses. There was another from the Cross of Witches, and even the Pentacles." Luz sighed and turned around, showing her sad eyes towards everyone. She offered no response, only nodding at her Whitelighter. Ailyn turned to Geiney and gave a slight smile, "You ready for your first demon hunt, tyke?" She asked. Geiney nodded, completely dismissing the awkward mood surrounding the kitchen.

"Awesome! I'm ready!" He said jumping up and down, like a small child.

"But after breakfast! A Whitelighter needs to eat too, you know."

"Oh, come on!" Geiney groaned as he tried to reason with her. Ailyn noticed the small smile that formed in Luz's mouth.

As they were talking during their breakfast, Ailyn couldn't help but think back on the earlier events of the day, before she arrived at the Cuentas family home. She had been impersonating a police officer, complete with the full get up all night, trying to obtain whatever information she could get her hands on. In the early morning she had to abandon her search as she was called up to the heavens for an important meeting. She quickly put the folders she was looking at away, neatly, and making sure no one was watching her, orbed out of the records office and teleported herself into the "lounge" of the place. She saw many Whitelighters talking with one another; some seemed to be having casual conversations, and others very serious conversations.

She looked for her bosses, all dressed nicely in bright white robes, with their hoods covering their heads. They noticed Ailyn and stopped talking, removing their hoods and lining up in an even line, with their hands folded in front of them.

"Hello, Ailyn," One of the Elders greeted her with a smile, Ailyn always thought she was pretty, "I see you have been investigating." She said, gesturing to Ailyn's police uniform.

"I just borrowed this. I'm gonna put it back, I swear!" She stressed out, as she looked from one Elder to another, all of whom were giving her a cocked eyebrow look. "Uh, so why did you call me?" She blushed, embarrassed at her complete slip up, and possibly getting an ear lashing from the Elders later.

"We're very concerned about Luz, your charge. We feel like she is losing the way of her destiny. As a witch." Ailyn stood at attention, frowning at her higher ups.

"I can assure you, I'm taking good care of them, Sandra. I don't see why you say Luz is losing—this is about her late boyfriend isn't it? The incident that happened a year ago."

Sandra nodded and took Ailyn's hands in hers. "Ailyn, she is trying to fight against her destiny. We have cloaked them long enough, and Geiney is ready to fight against the world of evil. We need you to trust us. They are ready, and you will be able to continue guiding them and fight alongside them. All we ask is that you let us uncloak them." Ailyn looked into the eyes of her boss and mentor. They were sincere, just as they always had been. Ailyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"I trust you." With that, Sandra nodded towards the other Elders who repeated her gesture and walked away.

"The Elders will drop the cloak. You can be with them tonight." Ailyn thanked the woman. They separated their hands and before Sandra walked off, Ailyn called her name.

"Is there anything I need to know?" Sandra thought for a moment, debating whether she should voice any instructions.

"Yes. As usual, you cannot let your charges know, but there will be a test set up for them. We had no part in this, but destiny chose this event. You must be ready to guide them through the beginning of this trial. Luz, Sara, and Geiney have a major part to play in this event." She embraced Ailyn and in her ear, whispered the words that continued to ring in her head, "You must let them play their part. You must let them decide for themselves." When she released Ailyn from her embrace, she smiled.

"Be not afraid, child, they are ready." Ailyn was jolted back into reality when Geiney prodded her with the handle of his butter knife.

"Did you not hear me?" He asked. Luz and Sara gave Ailyn a puzzling look.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about those murders still," Ailyn shook her head, putting the scene behind her, "The Elders still want me to look into that." Acknowledging Geiney, she asked, "So what were you telling me?" She asked, putting the food she forgot she had into her mouth.

"I was trying to ask if you could take me to the movies again. I really want to see a new movie that came out."

"Sure. When?"

"Tonight?" Ailyn hesitated, but agreed. Seeing as the Elders had told her to be with the siblings, she didn't see a reason not to. "Sure, I can take you. But we're walking. The Elders scolded me for using my orbing ability when it's not needed."

"But it's like ten miles!" Geiney whined.

"No, it's only a mile away. Besides, you need the exercise." Geiney gave up. As long as he went to see the movie, it was fine by him. When they were done, Geiney got ready to leave; he put on his red wrist bands with a diamond symbol stitched into them. He grabbed his flip phone and put it in his pocket along with the spare keys to the house. He made sure his shoes were tied for the walk to the movie theater and smiled at himself in the mirror of his bedroom. He turned and walked downstairs.

"Ailyn, I'm ready! Are Luz and Sara coming?" Ailyn stood up from the couch and shook her head no.

"Not tonight. They didn't want to see the movie." Geiney shrugged, and they walked out, with Geiney informing Ailyn about the movie they were going to see.

"So have you gotten better at aiming?" She asked, once Geiney was finished with the summary of the movie.

"Not really. I can only hit my target from a short distance away, but at least I can call on my power on my own." He said, smiling at the memory of how he discovered his powers.

"Do you remember how I got my powers?" Geiney mused.

"Yeah, I threw a ball at you, and when you raised your hand to catch it, you instead brought up a shield. Completely by accident, might I remind you."

Geiney pouted, "But you scared me!"

"I know, but it was worth it, right? We found out you were Aerokinetic! You can control the wind to defend yourself or attack your opponents. That is really useful, you know."

Geiney thought for a while before he chuckled to himself. He concurred, "I always did want an active power."

They arrived at the movie theater, Ailyn paid for them, bought two containers of large popcorn, and two drinks. The viewing room was half full when they arrived and most of the good seats were already taken, so Geiney led the way towards the middle seats, which still had a good vantage point towards the movie.

Meanwhile, back at the Cuentas home, Luz had brought the groceries in with Sara in tow, struggling to hold the groceries together while speaking into her cell phone. Luz tried not to laugh at the comical position her sister was in, while Sara sent daggers with her eyes at her laughing sister.

"But does it have to be tonight? I mean, we haven't even started filming, I don't see why I—" There was a pause while Sara watched apples and oranges fall steadily to the floor, unable to do anything but watch helplessly as Luz had a laughing fit. Sara pouted, and finally sighed, "Okay, if it's that important to you, I'll help you out. Yes... okay, on the corner of seventh and Roosevelt. Yes... goodbye." She turned to look at her sister, "You evil witch!" Luz let out her laughter, and then Sara realized what she was holding, "Wait, these are cans, right?" She dropped the bags and ran to her sister, chasing after her while Luz tried to appease her sister.

Finally, Sara captured Luz in a headlock, and after a moment, Luz coughed out in between laughter, "who was that on the phone?"

"My boss, who called me to tell me he was in some sort of trouble and he needed help," She let go of her sister, "He also said come alone, but he sounded very distraught. I wonder what kind of trouble he got himself into this time." She grabbed her keys from the key holders, and put on a jacket.

"Wait, your boss wants you to go now, at this hour? This doesn't sound right, Sara."

"I know it doesn't sound right, but he sounded helpless, I'm not sure why. Although I do understand that he's not in life threatening danger or he wouldn't be reminding me that I owe him some favors." She rolled her eyes and was about to walk out the door when Luz called her back.

"What about the bags you dropped?"

"Sound like it's your problem now, just for laughing at me," she turned around, "And now I am walking away and laughing at you." She laughed mischievously, as she waved with her free hand and walked out. Luz glared and when Sara closed the door, she let out a frustrated sigh.

"When I get my hands on you, I'm going to—" she picked up the nearest object on the floor "... throw a can of beans at you!" She began to angrily pick up the cans and fruit off the floor, cursing Sara underneath her breath.

Geiney and Ailyn exited the movie theater, laughing as they threw away their drinks and popcorn tubs into a nearby trash bin. "Okay, I have nothing but good things to say about this movie." Geiney said, regaining himself from his laughing fit.

"Okay, I have to be honest, I was not looking forward to seeing this movie, but I did enjoy it."

"How could you not? Will Smith, Kevin Klein, and Salma Hayek makes for a great movie."

They walked out of the theater, moving away from the bright lights and into the residential area. All the while, they continued to talk about the movie, each giving off their own opinions and thoughts. When they passed Seventh Street, they failed to notice a lone figure, fully cloaked, casually leaning up against a wall from a nearby alley. His vantage point made it to see people easier, but difficult to notice someone leaning against the wall unless they were looking for someone.

The figure, his mouth uncovered by his robe, smirked and kicked himself off the wall and followed Ailyn and Geiney. The figure began fingering the snake like bends of the blade, his smirk growing increasingly larger as he approached. Ailyn felt a shiver run down her spine, her sensing ability telling her that a demon was nearby. She let Geiney take over the conversation as she tried to focus on the shiver, trying to figure out how far the presence was. This had to be a demon; she only ever received shivers when it was a demon. She felt her heart jump in her chest, alerting her that the figure was at least a short distance away.

Ailyn frowned, and motioned Geiney to follow her in the direction of an alley; raising an eyebrow but not questioning it, Geiney followed Ailyn. The Whitelighter knew if the demon dared to attack, she could orb them safely without worrying about their exposure as a witch and a Whitelighter.

"That was a stupid move, witch!" Ailyn and Geiney both turned around fast, watching as the hooded figure brandished the Athame it held in its hands. It removed its hood to expose his face; he had short hair and a scar on his left cheek. The demon wore an excited, evil grin that showed off his crooked, yellow teeth.

"Who the hell are you?" Questioned Geiney, eyeing the figure up and down, resting his eyes on the shiny, silver blade their opponent wielded. It glistened in the light of the full moon and it made the figure look even more terrifying with the moon behind it, casting a shadow over them.

"The name's Jeremy. And I'll be glad to take your powers." He growled as he slowly approached the duo.

"What makes you think we have any powers?" Ailyn retorted, trying to come up with a plan of attack. She needed to know what kind of demon was after them so she could tell the sisters about him and vanquish him. This was the safest route. considering they knew nothing about the demon in front of them, yet.

"I've been studying you and your friends. And let me just say, it will be a pleasure to kill four witches in the same day. Consider it an accomplishment for me." Jeremy, the demon, sneered as he took another couple steps towards them.

"Okay, Ailyn, what do we do?" Geiney asked, taking another step back.

"Oh, there's nothing you can do. But if you let me kill you right now, maybe I'll kill you fast enough you won't feel any pain," It growled, foam building up in the corner of its mouth, "Who's wants to go first?" It snarled in a feral manner, as if waiting months to play with its new toy. He pointed the blade towards Ailyn, and Geiney, swaying the weapon to and fro, not knowing who to kill first.

"Geiney," Ailyn spoke, "I need you to throw a ball at him. You can distract him long enough for me to wound him and we can orb to your sisters." Geiney stared at her, fear completely in his eyes, "Don't worry. Trust in me." Geiney's eyes traveled back to the approaching figure, his heart beating a mile a minute. Ailyn looked around for something she could use as a weapon, her eyes traced her environment, taking everything and anything into consideration. Finally, she spotted something she could use, a discarded two by four beam.

Ailyn and Geiney bumped into the wall behind them. They were at a dead end and the figure was close approaching. Geiney closed, his eyes, took a deep breath, and twirled his wrist, summoning a clear, but noticeably round, rippling Wind Ball.

The figure laughed maniacally, "You'll go first!" Jeremy stepped forward, their distance only about five paces away. The demon lunged but Geiney threw the ball at the demon, who received it directly to the chest. Ailyn took the opportunity to grab the nearby two-by-four beam and stood in front of Geiney.

Jeremy, who was sprawled on the floor, laughed excitedly with a maniacal ring to its voice. "I'm going to love that power!" It picked up its Athame from the floor and threw a fireball at Ailyn. Unfazed, she blocked the fireball and charged forward, holding her ground with her own attacks. Strike, slash, spin slash; the figure doubled over and Ailyn spin struck the creature into the ground and stepped back.

"There's one thing you failed to realize. I'm actually a Whitelighter." She grabbed Geiney's hand and they both orbed out, white orbs surrounding their bodies until they dematerialized into nothing. The creature groaned and slowly got up. It held its chest, holding where he had taken the blow.

Step by step it leaned against the brick wall of the alleyway and cursed the sisters. "I will kill you bitches…" He looked at his free hand where a ball of fire formed, "Even if you fight back, I will kill you all." He walked out of the alleyway and headed towards the sister's manor, with only one thing on his mind; he was going to take great pleasure in taking their powers away.


	2. Power Hungry

**Chapter 2: Power Hungry**

 **Pilot**

Chapter 2:

Sara stepped on the breaks rapidly, screaming out loud as the crazy woman lunged herself into the hood of her car. The car stopped with a screech and Sara's heart nearly stopped at the sudden action. What the hell was this crazy woman trying to do?

"Thank god you're here!" She screamed again, knowing full well, after hearing this person's voice, she was a man.

"She's a he!" She screamed, whatever this woman wanted, Sara could only imagine the worst, like that movie where the detective picked up a hitchhiking woman who turned out to be a man with a gun who hijacked his vehicle and left him stranded with only his underwear on… Sara shook the thoughts away from her head, realizing she could use her powers on this… man? She tried to go but the crazy person held up its hands, imploring her to stop.

"Wait, Sara! Sara, it's me! It's Jack!" Sara eyed the figure up and down, and squinted, and then she let out a gasp. She couldn't believe it; her boss was dressed completely in drag getup. He sported long eyelashes and purple glitter makeup underneath his eyes. His cheeks were heavy with blush makeup, which completely complimented the light purple lipstick he was wearing. He wore a pink feather boa, a type of scarf around his neck, and an expensive looking purple silk dress which glittered in the light of the full moon. She couldn't see below his waist, but if she had to bet, she would assume he was wearing pantyhose and the high heels to match. What was worse about this situation was not that her boss was dressed in drag, but he actually looked fabulous in it!

"Jack McAllister?" She had to be sure this was the same man, her same boss and not an imposter. She couldn't believe it, or more, like she had to confirm this illusion true. So many emotions were welling up inside her, but she was too curious and confused to let anything out, yet.

"Yes, yes it's me! Thank god you arrived, in time too!" Finally, she couldn't hold back and let out the loudest laugh possible. He looked unamused by her reaction and sighed deeply, when she calmed down, he continued.

"Are you done? Please let me in, I've had a terrible night!" She unlocked the door, her chuckles still echoing in his ears.

"Terrible? You look absolutely fabulous! Who did your makeup?" He glared at her, his eyes narrowing. His eyes firing a blizzard towards her, which went over her head as she continued staring the man up and down, studying the outfit he was wearing, she had to admit, the pink and purple were definitely his colors. She felt like a teenager all over again, admiring this man's clothes and enjoying his fashion statement. Although, he wasn't enjoying his time at all, in fact, he felt insulted by Sara's words.

"I'm sorry; did you say you wanted to turn in your resignation early?" He spat to which she stopped laughing, but the smile never left her face.

"Okay," she rolled her window up so that they could have a moment of privacy, considering his current situation; she thought he deserved at least that.

"Could you tell me why you're dressed like this?" she pointed to his current state in fashion.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said, grumpily smacking his back against the seat, and crossing his arms with a deep frown on his face.

"Jack, how am I supposed to help if you won't tell me what the hell is going on. You owe me that." She was right, he thought to himself. He took a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I made a bet to your boss, head of the cinematography branch!" He snapped. She raised her eyebrows, as she started connecting the puzzle pieces. Her boss of the cinematography branch where she worked in was Troy brooks. She worked alongside Troy every day and his boss, whom he reports to, was the man in her car, Jack McAllister, the head of the company, Abstraks. She loved working with Troy because he never hit on her, since he was a homosexual, and he was the wittiest person she had ever seen. He would always consider himself a woman, and would often bring up personal topics mentioning 'girl problems'. He was the one that began the teenagers' fashion when she was growing up, his styles were the talk of town for the teenage girls in the country. Her mouth steadily fell as she realized that Troy never made a bet to lose; he always made bets he knew he would win. Connecting the final piece, this must have been a very big bet if Jack had to dress himself in drag.

"Jack! You do realize that Troy never bets to lose. To bet against him is like automatically surrendering."

"Oh, yes. I know this NOW!" He hissed. She rubbed her temples, as she gave off a light moan of disapproval.

"Okay, from the beginning, what did you two bet on and what happened?" She dropped her smile, now wanting to know why he made the ridiculous mistake of betting with Troy. She could almost see him now, completely giddy at the sight of Jack dressed as a woman, and she had to admit, Troy really knew how to dress a man in woman's clothing.

He took a deep breath, with his crossed arms, the look on his face, made him look like he was ready to kill someone, probably Troy.

"Troy had been spending a lot of money on the commercials, money that Abstraks can't afford waste. So I made a bet, knowing his spend-thrift habits that he would go over the budget plans we had thought up for the last commercial we made, like every other commercial made since his hiring. He made a bet that he wouldn't go over the budget and he swore to it. so I made the bet that if he lost, from then on, he would operate his branch the way I will set up for him, and if he won the bet, I would dress as 'Jackqueline, the queen of the evening!' "He mocked Troy's voice, "Well the lucky son of a bitch not only managed to stay under the budget, but still managed to hire five of the best models in the country for the commercial. And I lost! I can't believe that I lost to the cocky, self centered, ungrateful piece of trash!" He banged his fists against the car seat; Sara only raised an eyebrow at his childish tantrum.

"And I had to dress in this ridiculous fashion! I drew the line at the makeup, but I was forced to endure the humiliation of becoming a woman." The temperature in the car had risen, and Sara tried her hardest to keep from laughing at her boss' unfortunate events.

"I was hit on by everyone there, including the valet man! I cannot be seen like this! I am the president of Abstraks! If someone recognizes me in this getup, I will be finished! Did I forget to mention I lost to that imbecile?" Sara snickered, and took a deep breath, preparing herself for her next statement.

"But you look absolutely fabulous!" His glare burned a hole in her forehead, as if his eyes had become lasers. She cleared her throat, and swore that the temperature lowered drastically.

"So, about that help," She turned around and once more, cleared her throat, trying to dissipate the awkwardness that had lingered in the car, "Where do you want me to take you? You probably don't want to go to your fiancé's house, dressed in that. Should I take you home?" She ignited the engine in her car and it rumbled to life, she took a deep breath as Jack finally let go of the sudden animosity towards Sara.

"Yeah, but I'm going to need your help taking this stupid thing off. It took two men and a woman to get it on in the first place." Sara was about to question his statement but decided against it. He gave her the address and she followed the city streets until they arrived at his mansion. Or at least, Sara considered it a mansion, compared to their dwelling. The house was three stories tall and looked like it spanned two property lengths, and from what Jack had mentioned before, had a decent sized pool, Jacuzzi, and even a large garden area.

Jack struggled to get out of the car, but with Sara's help, he managed to break free of the mobile prison. There was a loud snap and Jack screamed as he fell in the grass. He landed face first in the grass, and stayed immobile as Sara covered her mouth with her hands.

"Jack!" Sara gasped and helped the man out, the man sniffled.

"I hate this day so much!" His shoulders shook pathetically and Sara gave him a hug of reassurance.

"You're home now, Jack. Let's get this off of you and maybe get you a drink." She helped the staggering man to the front door and he opened it. The lights flashed on and Sara was amazed at the space the house had. She smiled when she saw a portrait of their management crew including Troy and herself. She remembered taking the picture in the New Year to celebrate the successful year Abstraks had and how many good reviews their clients had. The picture served as a reminder, and as a promise that everyone would continue to work hard for the company. Sara was glad she was in the picture, Abstraks only took pictures with the higher ups, but Troy insisted that she participate in the group photo because she had helped him a lot that entire year, and in his words, "I couldn't have done it without my favorite, hard working girl friend on my side".

Removing the Pink Boa and broken high heels were the easiest part. It took them ten minutes to figure out how to remove the dress. Sara learned that Jack wore nothing but his undergarments underneath the dress, so when the dress was half way off, Sara left his bedroom and waited for him to undress into his clothes.

In the meantime, she went to his kitchen where she noticed his mini bar setup. She smiled, when she realized that Jack had made the bar himself. She remembered that Jack was a talented man and before he started working in Abstraks, he built houses, while trying to get his degree in arts. She prepared a drink for Jack, something cold and strong so that he would relax in bed. When she was satisfied with her drink, she took it to his bedroom. She knocked on the door and waited for Jack's reply.

She entered and saw him in casual nightwear, although at first glance it still looked like he was wearing some professional attire. The only thing off was the now hideous makeup seizing his face. She chuckled as she thought he looked like a clown dressed in really good clothes.

"Sara, how the hell do I get rid of this damn makeup all over my face?" Jack Demanded, holding a moist towel and rubbing his cheeks fiercely. He growled as the towel scratched his face mercilessly, not even smearing the makeup. Sara sighed; Troy had gone all out with the makeup, professional grade, like the same make up they use on the models.

"Well, first, you might not want to do that," She handed him his drink and he downed it, not surprised by his action, she continued the explanation, "second, you should probably take a long shower. It'll help you relax and remove most of the makeup. Not to mention you smell like a French who-"She stopped midsentence at his tightened jaw and dagger-filled eyes ready to fire at her, "I mean, you smell really feminine. Now, in the shower, lather your face up with your favorite soap, keep your eyes closed for about five minutes. When you finish, rinse your face off. Do this a couple times and it should remove all make up. Keep in mind your pores might feel like they're on fire but nothing bad will happen." She clapped her hands together, "Are there any questions?"

He sighed heavily, and hunched forward, rubbing his tired and colorful eyes.

"No, I think I understand. Thank you, Sara. And I appreciate you coming to my rescue. I really mean that."

"Next time, can I get a little more warning? I mean, the way you were dressed, I had half a mind to run you over, especially when you jumped in front of my vehicle." Jack nodded, and then frowned.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you looked like you were in trouble." She lied; the scare almost had her running him over.

"Well, thank you. And I would appreciate you not telling a soul about this. I mean it; we can't have the media go off on us about me dressed in that ridiculous outfit. Besides, we don't need any scandals especially when we're doing our best to bring the business back up." She smiled and patted him on the shoulder, hard enough, to let him know she was completely keeping her word.

"Don't worry Jack; no one's going to know about this." She smiled sincerely and he excused himself to take a shower. She showed herself out the door and unlocked her vehicle from the porch.

"As If anyone would believe me anyways…" she muttered to herself as she shut the door to her car. She was about to start the car when she received a phone call. She checked the screen on the phone, it was from Luz. Probably ready to murder her after she fled the house leaving Luz to pick up after her. She answered the phone and her heart raced when she heard her sister in a panic.

"Luz, slow down. What's going on?"

"It's about Geiney. He and Ailyn were attacked by a demon."

Sara raced home; the thought of a demon attacking now had Sara raising some questions. With the Elders' cloak gone it should've taken a while before demons knew who or what they were. When she finally arrived home she threw open the door and slammed it shut, alerting everyone in the house of her presence. She spotted Geiney and Ailyn sitting down in a chair and Geiney took off to her open arms.

"Are you okay?" She asked him as she studied his face.

Geiney grinned, "I fought my first demon! It was cool!" His excitement faltered when Luz cleared her throat, "I mean… I'm fine. Ailyn helped me during the fight and we were able to weaken the demon."

"He said his name is Jeremy, and judging from the physical combat I threw at him, He has some minor powers. He threw a fireball at me but who knows what other powers he might have. In short, he is a low level demon if I ever saw one." Ailyn clarified, her expression, a thoughtful one.

"You got all that from a fight?" Geiney cocked an eyebrow; all he understood from the fight was that this demon wanted their powers.

Ailyn smirked, "You've got a lot to learn, tyke. When you've been in the game for as long as I have, you pick up a few things, especially from your charges," He turned to Luz, "Is there anything in the book of shadows that could help us with this demon? Maybe there's a vanquishing spell or a potion?" Geiney turned to Luz, she ran her hand through her hair, her face looked like it was about to cry.

"Yes, there is. I think I remember the spell, but I'd rather not have it backfire on us." She led the way into the attic where Luz and Sara moved a bookshelf filled with novels, fantasy, and medical training books. A few books were shaken off their shelves and unto the ground where they were ignored for the time being. Using her powers, Luz beckoned the ground and the floor boards shook until they came off their places. An object wrapped in a blanket rose from the ground. The blanket fell into Luz's arms with Ailyn putting the floorboards back in their place.

Sara helped Luz unwrap the object and gasped slightly at the book, "I haven't seen this book in ages." She commented. Luz gave a slight smile. The book's cover was made of thick brown leather. On the cover was a flat diamond symbol carved into the book with a cross connecting the four corners in the middle. On the bottom of the diamond was a triangle that connected to the bottom point of the diamond. Each point of the diamond had one round piece of crystal, each one a different color. Geiney recognized four points; one was Rose Quartz, another Amethyst, one looked like a raw unpolished diamond, and the last one was amber. The other four crystals that he could see were blue, black, white, and green.

Luz set the book unto a nearby stand and opened to the first few pages where the table of contents resided. Luz muttered different chapters until she read the one she was looking for.

"This spell will vanquish all weak demons and the like, but it is also one of our strongest spells." She flipped to the correct page where the page displayed in beautiful, elegant script writing, "Mother Goddess Chant", in subscript were the words, "The Power of seven as one". "Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna," Luz recited the spell. She gave off a faint chuckle, "I can't believe I almost forgot that chant."

Geiney was in awe, he didn't know that his sisters had a spellbook. Although it looked like it had seen better days, despite that, the book nonetheless looked like it was still in great condition. Geiney felt his excitement bubbling through his entire body, yet there was a side of him that told him he needed to keep focus, especially when there was a demon after him. Even as traumatic as a demon attacking him, Geiney still felt the excitement rushing through his body like ocean waves.

Jeremy finally arrived at the Cuentas family home. His anger boiled in his body, and he breathed rapidly, his eyes focused only in his next objective, to kill the witches and obtain their powers, starting with the boy. He didn't want to charge in, he was already injured and alerting the witches to his presence was not a smart thing to do right now.

He cautiously looked through every window in the first floor. He circled the home twice, looking for anybody inside and for a way in. He examined the room before examining the windows. He found a few where he could enter. His eagerness started to overtake him, but he focused on his objective. When he found the ground floor was clear of any life, he entered through the kitchen window. He carefully climbed down the sink countertop and listened carefully. It took a minute for his ears to adjust, but when he did, he found the house silent. He fought to control his breathing as he carefully wandered the house.

He circled the ground floor once, being very careful of avoiding the stairs, he didn't want to be seen from above, then his cover would be blown and so would he, probably in a million pieces, knowing how witches had powerful spells against his kind. He concluded that there was nobody on the ground floor, which meant that he would have to climb the stairs.

Just as he reached the first step, he heard voices coming from up above him. He growled and ran back to the hallway where he listened.

"So how do we lure Jeremy into the house? We don't even know where he is right now." Geiney's voice resonated throughout the room. He grinned, they were coming towards him.

"Well, we can try Scrying for him. It's a method of finding an object, person or being using a crystal and a spell." Ailyn's voice was coming closer to Jeremy and he had to cover his mouth to keep from hyperventilating. He was excited; they were headed straight for his improvised trap. He readied the Athame in one hand and summoned a ball of fire in his other hand. He heard footsteps descending; multiple pairs drummed the stairs as he tried to make himself comfortable for the first target to pass his way. He stood on his right leg and drew his arm back, no hesitation in firing at the witches.

"No, I'm sure he'll be here whether we hunt for him or not. We will be ready, as long as we all stay together, he can't off us one by one." The steps began to sound really close, they were coming down the hallway, and Jeremy readied himself for the first target to pass the door frame. He readied himself to launch the fireball and when Ailyn stepped into view, he threw the fireball. Ailyn turned her head towards the light she caught in the corner of her eye, only to be hit by the fireball to the chest.

"Ailyn!" Luz cried. Expecting another attack she raised her arms, stepping into Jeremy's view and shielding Ailyn from another attack. With her anticipation, she managed to block the Athame using her telekinesis and deflected it towards Jeremy. He caught the Athame in midair and played with it, tossing it in the air before catching it by the blade. Luz grabbed her gun from behind her and aimed it at Jeremy. She gasped, the robe he was wearing looked very similar to the robed figure that killed Brandon. Then, she made her first mistake; she hesitated in pulling the trigger.

Sara and Geiney turned the corner and stepped into Jeremy's view, he watched with a twinkle in his evil eyes when the siblings grouped together.

"What's the matter, witch? Cat got your tongue?" Luz had her finger on the trigger; it was so easy to pull. It wasn't complicated to kill a demon as she had been trained for, so why couldn't she pull the trigger? Then she made her second mistake and lowered her gun.

Jeremy took advantage and threw the Athame, Geiney and Sara jumped out of the way, but Luz took the blade to her shoulder. She screamed as the dagger like blade pierced her flesh. She removed the blade, noticing immediately it was only a flesh wound. Ailyn got up and shoved Luz out of the way, as a battle between demon and two witches began. A furious Geiney threw four balls of wind towards Jeremy who took cover behind some desks, flipping them sideways so that he had a makeshift shield in front of him. Sara huffed and opened her fist, summoning her powers in her hand. "Let's fight fire with fist!" She taunted as she threw a round house kick at the make shift shield to bring it down.

"Luz…" Ailyn cupped her hands over Luz' wound and in a matter of seconds, healed the flesh wound. The only evidence that there ever was a wound was the small amount of blood that managed to seep into her blouse. Luz began to sob, embracing Ailyn tightly.

"I can't…" She sobbed. The fight rattled the other room, with small explosions, blasts and echoes of blows against wood. They heard Sara and Geiney communicate with one another, while Ailyn tried to comfort her friend. "Look out!" "Duck!" "He's gone to your left!" "Sara, move!"

"Luz, you are stronger than this. I know you are. You can't let fear control your life. Brandon wouldn't have wanted you to give up, he would've wanted you to continue fighting. You need to find your courage again, and fight this fear controlling you." Luz flinched as they felt the wall behind them shake.

"I don't know if I can…"

"Listen… Geiney and Sara are fighting in the other room with that demon. They are fighting for you right now. Brandon would be so proud of them. Do you remember what he told you?" Luz took a moment before her eyes changed from fearful, to battle ready. In that moment, she remembered what her boyfriend had said too, "No matter who you're up against, always remember where your strength comes from. I may not be a witch, but I do know where our hearts lie. Your family is your source of strength, as are you, my source of strength." Luz smiled, and then she crouched when the wall shook and some photos of them fell to the floor, the frames shattering.

"Quick, everyone to the attic!" Luz ordered, stepping into view and sending a chair towards Jeremy. Sara a vase at the demon that struck his unbalanced body and fell to the floor, shattering the object as well. Geiney, brought up his Wind Shield, and threw a ball to his opponent, crashing into a nearby bookshelf and falling down on top of Jeremy.

Luz led the way towards the attic with Geiney in tow, followed by Sara and Ailyn. They barged into the attic and Luz and Geiney closed the door, locking it and walking towards the book of shadows.

"We have to recite the spell once he enters again, Ailyn, support us." Luz ordered and Ailyn nodded, orbing out of the attic and into her bedroom in the manor. She found her weapon of choice, a wooden spear, and grabbed it, quickly orbing back up to the attic. She orbed next to the siblings in time to see the attic door rattling.

"This door is not going to stop me." Four impacts were heard and a noticeable crack appeared on the door, "Nothing can stop me!" Three more impacts cracked the entire door as if it were glass.

"I thought you witches were smarter than this," He laughed like a hyena, "Guess not. Haven't you witches figured it out yet?" Two more slams and the entire door looked like it was ready to collapse, "Nothing." Two more, and the door shattered inwards and everyone took cover, going prone, covering their faces. "Nothing can stop me," Geiney would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't scared at the moment.

He stepped into view as the smoke cleared. He held his Athame in his hands and his eyes grew in utter delight as he saw everyone huddled in the same spot.

"We have to recite the spell, now!" Sara cried, Jeremy swung the Athame and a wall of fire separated them from the demon.

"Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna. Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna." Chanted Luz and Sara, joining hands and snatching Geiney's Hand, Luz glanced at him and nodded, trying to get him to continue the chant."

"Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna," Geiney chanted in unison with his sisters, Ailyn stood in front of the siblings, Jeremy threw a fireball but Ailyn deflected it with her spear, completely focused on his attacks. He waved his hands and the wall of fire surrounded the family of four.

"Keep chanting!" That was the order Ailyn gave when the chanting stopped. They repeated their chant, and Jeremy laughed maniacally, as if what they were doing was a joke to him.

"You'll never get rid of me. You will never defeat my kind! We are one of millions of demons roaming the earth!" He boasted, the temperature of the room quickly escalating.

Geiney closed his eyes; he felt a type of power he hadn't felt before. This power wasn't scary, in fact, it felt good. He began to smile, as his whole body vibrated with this power. It was something Geiney had never experience before, and the mere feeling of it felt good to him. He opened his eyes, even with the wall of fire surrounding them, he still saw Jeremy standing in front of them.

He swung the Athame and a vortex of Fire and wind surrounded the siblings, the power growing so intense that a shockwave sent the vortex towards Jeremy himself. With one last howl of pain, he screamed, "We work for Him!" With one last, skin prickling howl, he had exploded in front of the eyes of the siblings.

They gasped and turned away, the explosion causing a cloud of heat to surround the attic. They coughed as the smell of sulfur and smoke filled the room. When it cleared, Geiney clasped Ailyn's shoulder, "Is he gone?"

Ailyn smiled, "Yes. He is gone… Forever." Geiney felt himself relax; the demon had actually frightened him. Thinking back the only reason he had fought the demon was because it had hurt Luz. He sighed, struggling to breathe normally. Looking around, he noticed everyone tried to do the same, even Ailyn. He concluded that he wasn't the only one scared from the demon vanquish, but his mind went back to that rush in power. He had forgotten his fear in that moment and he even smiled at the immense power that came from that. He glanced at Luz, he had a few questions for her.


	3. Double Double Demon Trouble

**Chapter 3: Double Double Demon Trouble**

Luz couldn't fight the urge to smile anymore as she let the only pleasant memory of her and her parents take over her mind. She and Sara were sitting in the kitchen, a small fleece blanket wrapped around both their shoulders, and a mug of hot chocolate in their tiny hands. Luz sipped away at the sweet, hot drink, topped with a touch of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. The two young sisters had just vanquished three low level demons by themselves, with the help of the Book of Shadows. Since they had used their families' spell book, the vanquish was much more dramatic, and frightful. They had witnessed three demons in excruciating agony, letting out deep growls that shook the very walls they were in. The mere sight of the vanquish shook the sisters badly. Just thinking about it made Luz shiver, and she shook the images away from her mind, and instead focused on the funny story that their father was telling them.

Their parents had noticed how bad the children were frightened by the vanquish, and who could blame them, when two children of seven and eight just vanquished, in the worst way possible, three demons who let out bloodcurdling roars. Luz's mother, Mia, thought of an idea to minimize their fright. She brought the girls together and gave them a warm drink, blanket and some kind company. She set some rules that the conversation could be about anything and everything. Neither her or her husband would talk about demons or magical subjects unless the children brought it up, and they could sit there for as long as they needed to. For that particular vanquish, neither Luz nor Sara talked about anything that involved demons or magic.

The conversations started small and awkward at first, but then they developed to telling stories and making the children laugh. Luz had to admit, their get together was pleasant and warm. She had always wanted something like this, to be family for once, to happen. She didn't want to wake up early and train their bodies to fight all sorts of evil.

The mere sight of seeing their parents with honest smiling faces, telling funny stories and laughing together made Luz smile, hoping that they could do this more often. She laughed alongside her giggling sister as their father talked about his most humiliating story involving his crush in high school. He ended the story with, "And that's how I met your ugly mother!" which resulted in him getting punched in the arm, leaving the sisters in a laughing fit.

Luz pulled herself away from the warm memory and opened her eyes. Things haven't changed, she thought to herself, as her eyes took in the scene before her. Geiney was wrapped up in a blanket, with a mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows in his hands. He held the mug tightly in his hands, as if warming his entire being with it and smiled when Ailyn complimented him in fighting the demon.

"That was a close vanquish, but you handled yourself nicely, tyke. I'm proud of you." She gave him a pat on the back and shook his shoulders, letting him know she was serious.

"Thanks, Ailyn. That vanquish was terrifying, and something I didn't expect to happen." He admitted.

"Well, I'm glad we're all safe again. But since this was your first demon vanquish, it can be frightening. So what our parents used to do is sit with us, when we were frightened, hot chocolate in our hands, and just talk. It could be about any subject you wanted to talk about. We are not to bring up any topics of demons or magic unless you do." Luz smiled; she could almost see their young selves sitting next to Geiney.

Not wanting to jump right into the topic just yet, he instead opted on something else he noticed on their Book of Shadows.

"Why do we have a Diamond symbol on the Book of Shadows? Shouldn't we have a more well-known and powerful symbol like a Pentacle or Celtic Knot?" He asked.

"Good question," Luz smiled, "The answer lies in our heritage; our history as witches, and protectors of the innocent." She paused for a moment before getting Ailyn's attention, "Would you mind grabbing the Book of Shadows from the attic, please?" She smiled and orbed out. Luz rolled her eyes.

"Without orbing!" Her attention settled back on Geiney, "Anyways, our ancestors, three wise women known only as The Crone, The Mother, and The Child, chose the symbol of the Diamond because of the seven goddesses in the chant. The seven goddesses represent the Mother Goddess, which happened to be the same number of points of the Diamond in the Family Jewels, which they crafted to seal the Source of all Evil back into hell. Seven points united in one crystal, the power of seven working as one. You already know the names of the goddesses: Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, and Inanna." She repeated the spell from the book. Ailyn returned and grumpily muttered something under her breath as she handed Luz the Book of Shadows.

"And you wonder why the Elders don't want you to Orb for non-magical reasons." She said matter-of-factly.

She flipped through the book until she found the page she was looking for. She turned the book around to show Geiney an illustration of three women. One with an elderly face, her body slumped over slightly and she seemed to hold her hands behind her back. Her facial features showed she feared no evil; in this case, the shadows surrounding the three women. Her eyes furrowed in determination, and she almost seemed to invite the evil against her. The second woman in the middle was much younger. However, she still looked experienced enough for the matter. One hand was raised to the sky, and her facial features depicted she was in the middle of a chant. There was a glow from her raised hand, and upon closer inspection, she was shielding the three women. The third woman to the right was a young adult, who only pointed at a few shadows, squirming in pain and despair. She wore an almost smirking face, as if taunting the shadows they were invincible.

There were words at the bottom of the page; Crone, Mother, and Maiden: The Sacred Three.

"These are our great ancestors, women who shaped our destiny as the first witches of our family. They were beautiful, intelligent, and kindhearted women who followed the Wiccan laws and protected the innocent." Geiney was mesmerized; he ran his hand over each of the women, imagining the amazing powers each woman had. He let his imagination wild when he pictured the three women, together, holding hands and casting their powerful spells on an army of demons.

"So what were their powers?" He asked as he ran his fingers over the words on the bottom of the page. He felt the bump of the words as his fingers glided over the page and finally stopping at a corner.

"Crone, the elderly woman, had the power of Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with her mind, and Atmoskinesis, the ability to manipulate and control the elements. She was able to control Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, Dark, Energy, Ice, and Psychic Energy. Mother, the daughter of Crone, had the power of Surge, the ability to throw a psychic blast, a very effective power against demons of all sorts, and Deflection, the ability to deflect, and repel any magical attack, spell or power. Maiden, Mother's daughter, had the power of healing, like Ailyn's, and Teleportation, the ability to travel from place to place in an instant.

"So what was that power that I felt during the spell? It felt incredible." He asked.

"That feeling was the power that we were asking for from the goddesses. The goddess grants power, if invoked, to vanquish demons and to protect us from harm." Geiney thought back to the vanquishing, when he felt that warmth wash over his body in waves. It gave him the courage to face the demon, and see to it that the demon was killed. One wave after another that washed away any fear and hesitation and replaced it with courage, strength, and even comfort. Geiney understood now that this power that he felt was from the goddesses, and it was part of their family heritage, something that they would all carry on for their lives and the lives of their children.

"What's going to happen to us now? Won't we be in more danger now that we vanquished a demon?" Geiney voiced his new concern, and Luz half embraced him.

"I imagine by now, both the heavens and the underworld know that a demon was vanquished in this house, so it won't be long before other demons start knocking on our front door, but, talking it over with Ailyn, it's never too late for us to teach you the Wiccan ways." At hearing this, Geiney lit up, excitement building up in his body.

"You mean I'll get to learn how to fight demons with powerful spells? Protecting the innocent like the stories you've been telling me since I was little? I'll get to protect myself using chants and herbs?"

"Slow down, tyke," Ailyn, chuckled, "First you must learn the Wiccan laws and our ways of life. We can't have you running around defenseless out in the world, now can we?" She ruffled his hair and he beamed.

"Will I get to read the Book of Shadows?" Sara stepped up in the conversation, giving Luz a signal that meant she was going to take over this conversation.

"The Book of Shadows is yours too, Geiney, just as it is part of our family. The Book of Shadows isn't just any book, though. It guides us through our difficult times, and it protects us from harm." Geiney looked confused and Sara laughed it off, "Don't worry, you'll soon understand what I mean. You're welcome to read the book at anytime, but you are not allowed to take the book out of the house. It serves to protect us; otherwise, we'd probably be overrun with demons by now."

Geiney stared at the open book, where the illustration of the three women were and looked up at his older sister, "Where did our family originate? Who were Crone, Mother and Maiden?"

"That's kind of a long story." Luz admitted.

"I've got time." He replied, smiling and sitting back in his chair. With no way out, and clearly no help from his sister or Whitelighter, who looked away, not making eye contact, she reluctantly sat down and knitted her hands together, trying to quickly remember her history. She looked up and gave a slight smile, turning the book back so she as able to take a look at the three women illustrated in the book.

"Well, this story takes place in 1781 somwhere between here and Mexico. Neither the book nor Sara and I know the true names of these valiant women, but they only go by the names the townspeople gave them; Grandmother, Mother, and Child. However, translated from an extinct language, its more accurate to say their names were, Crone, Mother, and Maiden.

"During this time, Crone, Mother and Maiden travelled all over banishing evil spirits possessing victims to vanquishing all sorts of monsters. As they travelled, they met all sorts of people, both good and bad. They met people who welcomed them into their homes and protected them while others sought to hurt and kill them. Nevertheless, they overcame every problem without a scratch. They had recently vanquished three sisters who used their gifts for evil, wanting nothing more than to control the people and call themselves gods. They survived the battle, but all three suffered injuries during their struggle. The town, now freed from the evil sisters, offered their doors to them, as they healed up before travelling to another city to continue their battle against evil.

"It was then that they heard a rumor of a newborn city called Catemaco, somewhere in Mexico, where it was said that the energy in the river, mountains, and the terrain attracted all sorts of evil. Some who were familiar with the craft tried to take the land in the name of good, but they were surely fighting a losing battle. Encouraged, the three women headed to this new city to battle against evil.

"Now, Crone had only two powers during this time; Telekinesis and Atmoskinesis. Many feared her because she was able to control virtually their entire environment and use it against their opponent. She was also the most respected of the three. Her intelligence, her powers and her ability to banish demons were what made men fear her and women respect her.

"Mother also had two powers, Surge and Deflection. She was a mother to all children and a friend to all women. Once, a horde of men tried to kill her, but she managed to defeat them all without moving from her spot. Men wouldn't dare look at her, and many women bowed in respect when she passed them.

Maiden, too, had two powers; Healing and Teleportation. She was able to heal herself, and her family. She often healed the illnesses of the people and saved many from the unknown diseases at the time. She too was beautiful, but no man would ask for her hand, because they feared Mother and Crone." She laughed, "That would explain why men who tried to take her ended up losing many things, and sometimes their life. If I remember right, she was the most beautiful of the three. Even when she was senile, she was still beautiful.

When they arrived at the town, they were greeted by humble people, some explaining the dangers they were going to be facing. Understanding all the dangers, our ancestors claimed a spot of land to live in temporarily. Originally, they were only going to stay to drive the evil back; however, when their powers amplified within a year of their stay, they realized their destiny was to stay there. They fought everyday alongside other witches, and warlocks who wanted to drive the evil back, and claim the land for the forces of good.

Their powers amplified to the point where they were able to share their powers with one another. Maiden and Mother were able to gain Crone's power of Telekinesis and Atmoskinesis, and so on. It was then that their greatest evil yet, had shown itself to our ancestors. Leader of all Demons, and lord of evil, had arrived. The Source of all evil had ventured into the earth to take down the women and claim the land they were in for him. He was angry that the city hadn't belonged to him yet, and he was angry at our ancestors for denying him the chance to take it for his glory. The three women led their small army of a thousand against an army of twenty thousand demons, and their leader, The Source. It took them all two moons, or two months, fighting to defeat the evil and vanquish the source.

"During this battle, our ancestors gained a new power which they all seemed share; Geokinesis, the ability to control and manipulate the earth and all its forms such as sand, dirt, and other forms of earth based properties. To end the battle, they crafted a Diamond, with seven points, and called upon the goddesses themselves to bless the crystal. Once blessed, Crone, Mother and Maiden, too, used their own blood to bless the crystal and defeated the great army and imprisoned the source of all evil. It was said that he suffered major injuries including leaving a large gash on his demonic face.

"They were victorious, but they had lost over four fifths of their army. Our ancestors said that they had won their battle but lost their war. With this grave loss, the three women claimed the land in the name of good, and wept for their loss. The town later brought up more people, and eventually became a bustling city. Skipping to today, the city of Catemaco is well known for their history of using witchcraft. In fact the town itself is a tourist attraction known for its witches and warlocks, who practice both good and bad magic. However, many con artists only use the city to make money, tricking people into thinking that they are real witches when they really are not. Every now and then, though, I hear of real witches that tend to scare some con artists away." She chuckled at the thought.

Geiney smiled, imagining a scene where he travelled to the city and met a con artist warlock in the area and scared him with his real powers. He imagined the man shaking on the ground and fleeing in terror at the idea of a real witch in his home.

"That's where our family comes from, the first witches in our blood line."

"What happened to Crone, Mother, and Maiden?"

"Well, Crone eventually passed away, vowing that every generation in our family will have powers until the day came where they would return to fight the greatest evil that the world has ever seen. It was a premonition that Crone had seen as she was passing away, something that shook her family, and the sudden news as she was passing away did little to comfort them.

Mother was blessed by watching her daughter marry another kind witch who had the power of Omnilingualism, the ability to speak, read, and write in any language. When they married, Mother was able to see her granddaughter be born before she, too, died. She promised that her blood line would continue on, and that when the time came, she would rise up alongside Crone and fight the greatest evil that the world would ever see.

Maiden, when raising her child, witnessed strangers arriving in their shores and killing anyone who claimed themselves as a witch. She and her husband hid underground, and adopted a store which they named Cuentas. Their store was a small shop selling rugs, clothing and wool.

They continued to teach people witchcraft in secret, until Maiden passed away of old age as well, vowing to come back when their inevitable battle against the greatest evil of all arrived. To this day, none of their children know about this prophecy except for those three.

Other than that, they continued their bloodline until the present day, where the three of us are reunited, with the help of our Whitelighter." She finished, giving a nod towards Ailyn who winked.

"So I don't know about you, but I've had enough history lessons for one day," she turned to Luz, "What do you say we go out to eat? I'm hungry and demon guts from the ceiling don't seem very appetizing." Luz agreed and closed the book, while Geiney downed the rest of his warm drink, and set off to get ready for dinner. When Luz and Ailyn were alone, after arriving to the attic, Ailyn tapped Luz on the shoulder.

"You did well tonight. I'm proud of you. You conquered your fears and even managed to dive back into your family history."

"Well, I may have agreed to stay a witch, and teach Geiney our ways of life, but the fear is still there. I can feel it," She touched her chest, "I was protecting my family downstairs, during the attack, but I could still feel a pang of fear inside me. The training our parents provided didn't prepare us for the demon world. I mean, they trained us to fight, and they trained us to use our powers against evil, but they could not prepare us for the loss of an innocent, especially not when it's your boyfriend." She set the book carefully down, and admired the familiar flat Diamond symbol on the cover.

There was a moment of silence before Luz called Ailyn's name, "Don't you think it was too soon for a demon attack? Didn't they just remove the cloak on us yesterday?"

"Yes, it was way too soon," she shot a glare towards the heavens, "I'm going to see the Elders right now, before dinner. I'm just glad none of us were seriously harmed. Geiney has a lot to learn, but I see much potential in the tyke. And while it was too soon for a demon attack, I think Geiney was ready. He too put up a good fight downstairs."

"But I'm still scared for future demon attacks, Ailyn. I don't know what I'm going to do if another demon attacks. I was too scared to fight this demon in the beginning, and I let my guard down." She pointed at the destroyed study room downstairs, referring to Jeremy, the now vanquished demon.

"But you found your strength to face him. Remember that strength, and you will always be able to face your worse demons. Literally and figuratively." Luz smiled and embraced her Whitelighter, her best friend, and to Luz, another sister.

"Thank you, Ailyn." Luz sincerely said.

"No worries! Just be sure to grab the check tonight." She winked at Luz, who only laughed and nodded. They broke apart when Sara stepped in followed by Geiney.

Ailyn announced she was going to see the Elders and that she would catch up with them at the restaurant of their choosing. When they left the room, she sighed and frowned, not happy with the entire demon situation. She orbed herself out of the attic and up into the heavens. She walked with confidence, when she arrived; strutting rapidly throughout the heavens, passing the coliseum like pillars to where the pearl colored building was located.

As she passed through, she saw many Whitelighters either speaking with one another or meditating in a single spot. Anyone who saw her knew she wasn't happy. Some turned to look at her, questioning why her demeanor had changed. Others saw her, but turned back to the people they were conversing with. To them, she was just another Whitelighter doing her job. One Elder tried to converse with her, trying to calm her down, but she only glared at the superior angel. She told him she needed to speak with Sandra, the Elder, immediately. The other Elder raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he stepped out of the way. She finally caught a group of Elders surrounded in a circle, conversing with one another.

"I would like to speak with Sandra, please." She spoke clear and with authority, for all to hear. They stopped conversing and turned to look at Ailyn's face, a frown etched into her features, and her eyes locked unto Sandra's. Sandra signaled for them to be alone and the Elders walked away, not looking back.

"Hello, Ailyn. How was your evening?" she knitted her hands together speaking gently, trying to diffuse Ailyn's anger.

"It was going good. Geiney and I watched a movie, and then afterwards we were attacked by a demon." She spoke, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What happened after this?" She replied, keeping her tone calm.

"The siblings and I fought this demon at the manor, but Luz hesitated and couldn't fight the demon. I had to remind her that she needed to protect her family, and with that, she found the courage to vanquish this demon." Sandra nodded, a slight smile playing at her lips.

"I take it this is the first demon the sisters have fought together since they left their parents schooling. How did Geiney do? Were there any complications during the demon vanquish?" Ailyn sighed, her anger dissipating, as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Geiney did well for his first vanquish. However, he was not prepared to witness such a dramatic vanquishing. He is doing well, now that the siblings are taking him out to eat after we talked. You don't sound surprised by my debriefing. Shouldn't you be surprised that a demon attacked us a day after you dropped the cloak? I understand when a charge is cloaked; they have a period of time before demons even know they're there. Care to explain to me what happened today?" Ailyn's eyes held a strong glare towards Sandra, and she took a deep breath before answering the question.

"Do you promise not to get mad?" Ailyn frowned at the question.

"If that doesn't work for Geiney, it certainly isn't going to work for you. So spill it. What do you know?"

"We actually dropped the cloak a month ago when Geiney received his offensive wind power." Ailyn's jaw dropped, and Sandra held a hand up.

"Let me explain. When Geiney received his new power, we felt it time to drop the cloak. We wanted to talk to you beforehand, but Luz's heart was filled with so much doubt, we couldn't risk her stripping away their powers."

"Luz wouldn't do that…" She muttered. Thinking back, she could see Luz giving all the signals. But what made her feel like such a terrible friend was the realization that Luz was in that much doubt, and she did nothing to help our her friend.

"Did you know that Luz was willing to give up her powers and theirs too?" Sandra asked, and Ailyn shook her head no.

"Did you know her heart was filled with doubt?" Again, Ailyn shook her head in disagreement.

"She didn't say what she was feeling." After a moment of silence, Ailyn sighed, "I failed her." Her head bowed down slightly, saddened at the truth of her words.

"On the contrary, child, she was going to give up on their powers because she wanted to protect her family. In order to protect them, she felt she was going to do it in the best way possible. Remove their powers and demons stop looking. However, she would have been wrong."

"If she had stripped their powers, the demon from earlier would have killed them. They would have been defenseless." Sandra nodded, agreeing to her statement.

"We saw this future happening so we didn't tell you about what we had done to your cloak. Instead we asked you to prepare Luz's mind for a possible future demon hunt and she agreed. If we had waited another month, that same demon or another, might have killed them after their powers have been removed." She let Ailyn process the information before speaking, "How did Geiney do during the demon vanquish?"

"He did quite well for his first vanquish. He and Sara fought the demon while I tried to help find Luz' courage."

"So, was he ready?"

"Yes, he was ready. But you should have been honest with me, Sandra. I trusted you." Sandra's smiled faltered; she felt the sting in Ailyn's words and held Ailyn's hands in her own.

"Would Luz have willingly let you talk her into letting her family fight demons? Do you think, at the time, that Luz would have let us drop the cloak?" Ailyn opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it. She knew that it took three months for Luz to even patiently listen to Ailyn about demon subjects.

"No." Was her final answer, looking down, her anger completely vanished.

Sandra smiled, and with one arm, embraced Ailyn, "Don't be afraid, child, your family has been ready for a long time, they just need to find their strength. And you need to be their guardian now more than ever." Ailyn nodded and thanked Sandra.

"Now go be with them for a while. We will call you back when we need you." Ailyn stopped and raised an eyebrow at Sandra.

"The last time you told me to be with them, a demon attacked us in an alleyway."

"I promise there won't be any more demons attacking for a while. Relax, and be with them. Teach them to defend themselves and keep Geiney out of trouble." Ailyn chuckled and nodded.

"Sandra, I'm sorry for being so angry with you. I was just trying to protect my family, and the sudden demon attack had frightened me."

"Do not worry, child. I'm glad you care for them so much. It shows every day how much they mean to you, as you mean to them." She then playfully shooed Ailyn away, and she walked out, orbing when she was a short distance away, and outside of the restaurant where the siblings had picked to eat.

It was a few days later, Luz carried a basket of clothes upstairs, or rather shuffled to the groove of the music she was playing. She heard the doorbell ring and she dropped the basket at the foot of the stairs. She turned off the stereo that was in the corner of the hallway, and walked to the front door. She was surprised to see a familiar looking face, albeit more worn out from the last time she saw him.

"Sergeant Robert! I thought I was never going to see you again!" She happily jumped into his arms. His face melted into a smile, his deep voice echoing in her ears.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise. I managed to get the day off today and I am overdue a visit." She broke the embrace and ushered him inside, and began working on their preferred drinks. The sergeant asked for an herbal tea, and she began to make the tea in a pot on the stove. She always kept a box of his favorite remedial tea, when the stress was too great to handle, as she remembered him saying.

"So, what made the famous Sergeant visit me?" She poked fun at him, "I saw you on the television the other night," He rolled his eyes.

"The T.V makes me look fat and old." She agreed. In real life he wasn't that old, he was just worn down from years of stress, overworking, and handling cases with little to no leads.

"Well, we were stumped on a case we were working on, the one with the missing single women. There was actually supposed to be another female victim a couple days ago, according to their M.O, but that never happened." His hands searched his pockets and fished out what looked like a photograph, "He was our only lead, but the man isn't even registered on any database." She took one look at the photo and flinched. Thankfully, Robert was looking at the photograph of the man, or in reality, the demon they vanquished earlier that week. The scar wasn't present in the photograph. She remembered demons could look like humans but they could also shed their humanoid cloak at will.

"Well, I can't say I've ever met him before. I'm sorry you've been stuck on that case." She turned around as Robert folded the photo and pocketed it, and mouthed, "Oh, god," to the heavens.

"How have you been, kiddo, since the last time we met?" He thanked Luz for giving him the steaming hot cup of tea. He brought the cup to his lips, but instead of drinking, he inhaled, moving the cup from one side to the other, allowing his nostrils to pick up the sweet and tangy aroma of Herbal Meds tea. Luz smiled; she knew it was his habit from when he spent five years in China in the service. The locals taught him how to appreciate the smell and the art of tea. In her opinion, when he brews his teas by hand, they were by far the best tasting teas she had ever drunk. He hummed appreciatively, and took one cautious sip of the tea, flinching a bit when the hot tea met his sensitive tongue.

"I've been well. Actually, I recently returned to my roots, something that I had almost forgotten about. I'm teaching our culture to a certain troublemaker of mine."

"Ah, Ailyn?" Luz chuckled, and shook her head no.

"The other one, Geiney."

"How's the little guy?"

"He's not so little anymore. He's grown quite a few inches since the last time you saw him." She remarked, taking a sip of tea. Having a stronger tongue, she poured the hot tea into her mouth, ignoring the slight sting it left in her mouth.

"Well, it'll be good for Geiney to learn about his culture. I wish someone would have taught me my culture and the importance of our family." He admitted, taking a sip of his tea, a heartier sip.

"Oh, it most certainly will be good for Geiney to learn about it. He needs it in order to survive." Robert looked at Luz with a puzzled expression. Feeling her heart race at the small hiccup she had made, she quickly covered it up with the first thing she had come up with. "I mean, he has an upcoming exam about the Incas, and the different native groups in Mexico. He needs the history lesson if he wants to survive the exam." She took a quick sip, fighting the blush that threatened her face.

"You should drop by more often, Robert. You're always welcome in my house. I could never repay you for what you did for us." Luz referred to the night they killed Brandon, her fiancé. Robert was accidently put on the case, but quickly took over. In the end, the case had no leads, no witnesses, and their resources were running thin. Luz wouldn't admit that a demon had killed him, she couldn't. Even when she took it upon herself to find out who killed him, no demon spoke. They had all rather be vanquished than to admit who had killed her boyfriend.

Robert had checked up on the family, every couple days, and even took the time to help the siblings out when they needed it. He smiled at the memory, when Luz was finally able to return to her old self. She had welcomed him into her family. He didn't know why he wanted to help them out as badly as the night he first met the siblings. He felt the urge to comfort every one of them, and the weird urge to protect them. Even now, he didn't understand why he still cared about the siblings as much as he did now. Any other family, it would have been just another case, but to him, these people meant a lot more to him than he cared to admit to himself. Even when his captain dismissed the case as unsolved, Robert continued to work from home.

"You look worn out sergeant. Why don't you join us for dinner tonight?" She said, "That way you don't have to cook yourself dinner, and you can spend some time with the family." He hummed in thought and then agreed.

"Very well. For tonight, but don't be formal." He gently scolded,

"That's what I was going to say to you." She replied, and he finished his tea before excusing himself. Luz walked him to the door, gave him a hug, and told him that she couldn't wait for tonight. She even told him that she would be cooking his favorite dish, steaks and chicken breasts.

Luz had been laughing for so long that her sides had started to hurt. She was not the only one, as her other siblings and Ailyn were struggling to keep themselves together at Robert's hilarious story. He was telling the family about one of his adventures in the police force many years ago. He received a call from a young drug addict who called the police explaining in great detail how he received a vision about an alien invasion about to take place. Robert even explained to the family how the addict covered his entire apartment in tin foil, and made himself multiple helmets from the stuff.

Robert, who was so amused by the addicts' insistence of the alien invasion that he had stayed to listen to the man ramble until he was finished. The addict had gone as far as dressing up as a military sergeant, and told Robert about what he and the police agency's battle plan would be. He told him that the agency should split itself into three groups. One group would be assisting in the battle of the alien pods, while another group would be assisting in the escorting of civilians out of the city. The third would be supporting the offensive group in any way they can. Robert admitted that the strategy was somewhat thought out and even included the U.S army's assistance. In the end, the addict had ended the plan with, "And that should leave the army with enough time to set up their weapons of mass destruction! Any questions, Cadet?" Robert mimicked the addict's military-like voice which sent the whole table into a fit of laughter.

"I mean, this poor man, to be able to think of a plan in that much detail, and to go as far as to cover his entire apartment in tin foil was just the icing on the cake. He actually openly admitted that he ingested mushroom hallucinogens which gave him the 'vision' ", he waved some air quotes, picked up his glass and took a gulp from his drink, then resumed his story, "I only spent about a half hour talking with the man, but I promised him he was going to get all the help he needed from my end. I never told him that he was going to get the help from the back of an ambulance, but he did go peacefully to negate the drug effects. He consciously woke up when they arrived at the county jail, but no further issues arose from the man."

"What happened next?" Sara asked, her laughter dying and replaced by curiosity.

"He insisted to the court that the visions were real and that they should do something about the incoming attack."

No!" Geiney laughed, covering his mouth in complete surprise, Robert nodded, his grin plastered to his face.

"Yes, it was a very entertaining case, but the courts enjoyed his vision so much, they let him go, no restitutions or fines whatsoever, straight into psychiatric help and rehabilitation." He finished his story sending Ailyn and Luz straight into a small fit of laughter.

"Did you ever see the man again?" Geiney asked.

"

"I saw him three years later, but he was still convinced that his vision was real. Nothing really changed with him, but I do know he is not an addict anymore. In fact, his vision is the only thing that made him realize he has 'bigger battles to fight' ", he repeated his air quotes. "He is now on the hunt for extraterrestrial life and paranormal research." Robert shrugged, taking the last bite of his chicken, and another swig of wine, provided by him for the adults in the house. They finished their meals, continuing to talk about the story Robert had just finished.

"So, Robert, I heard you were going to stay in the police force. I thought you were looking forward to retirement." Ailyn spoke.

"I was, but then these missing people cases and strange murders started happening all over the city, and around the same time. I just couldn't leave. Not yet." He replied, his voice so sincere, "Besides, there are still a few things the rookies can learn from me. Retirement can wait a few more years."

"Well, I for one am happy you're still on the force. This city needs more people like you, Robert." Luz piped in.

"Yeah, but I feel hopeless when people like my mystery culprit disappear without a trace."

"Mystery culprit?" Luz's eyes widened at the realization that Robert was speaking about the demon they had vanquished earlier. Luz sent Sara a look, but no one was watching her. Robert pulled out the photograph and showed it to Sara.

"Ever seen this man? Any clues on who he might be?" He asked everyone at the table. Geiney, who was taking a hearty swing of his drink, spat it out and started coughing violently upon taking a look at the photo.

"Went down—" He coughed, "Wrong way…" he hoarsely spoke. Ailyn patted him on the back, trying to reduce his coughing fit.

"You should be more careful." Robert warned, putting the photo away.

"There doesn't seem to be any trace of this guy." He admitted, running a hand through his hair, and huffed.

"At any rate, the city will still remain ever guarded by Sergeant Robert." Luz smiled at him. He returned the smile and shifted his gaze to a nearby clock and sighed. He stood up and excused himself as it was getting late. He thanked Luz for the meal and told her it was better than his own food. Everyone saw him out the door, and he promised to return for another visit soon. After some goodbyes, the sergeant left the house feeling at peace, knowing that Luz was going to be okay. He even noted that something had changed within her, but in a good way. Whatever it was, he hoped it was going to be for the better.

"Can you believe that Robert had a picture of Jeremy, the demon we vanquished?" Geiney brought up, as he and Sara were cleaning up the kitchen.

"That was really surprising. It took all of us off guard." She replied, finishing the dishes and scrubbing the sink.

"Do you think he'll know it was us? I mean, he is a detective and all." He questioned, wiping down the kitchen table.

"I highly doubt it. He would have brought it up at the dinner. And even if it leads to us, we'll just tell him we don't know anything about him. We've never seen him before. Do you know why I say this?" She asked and received a hum in return.

"Because no one can suspect we are witches, Geiney." Geiney threw the towel to the sink counter and missed the stand, collapsing in front of it. Geiney walked the distance and picked it up, folding it and placing it back on the stand next to the washed dishes.

"Okay, but we aren't going to hurt him if he finds out, right?" Sara smiled, and clapped him on the back.

"Trust me, we won't hurt him, threaten him, or use our powers on him. We'll deal with it when the time comes. But I promise you that we won't hurt him." She smiled and sent him off to bed, reminding the groaning boy that he had school the next day.

The next evening, Luz had brought everyone up into the living room. Well, everyone except Geiney, who was still in his bedroom getting himself ready.

"I'm here!" he announced to everyone in the living room. He sat down in one of the couches next to Ailyn who sat next to Sara. Luz had brought Geiney in to teach him a thing or two about them as witches.

"Where do I start?" Luz took a deep breath, "You know as witches, we are to protect the innocent, and not punish the guilty, right Geiney?"

Geiney nodded; he understood the lesson, even though he didn't completely agree with the logic. He understood they were only supposed to use their powers for evil beings, such as demons and other forms of evil, and not to punish a bully or other human beings that were doing wrong. They could use their powers to protect other people, but that was all they could do. They were not allowed to punish the guilty; other forces would do that such as Karma or bad luck.

"Do you know why we can't tell anyone we are witches with powers?"

Again, another nod, "It's because there are still people who don't understand what we do. They don't understand our way of life or our beliefs. They can't understand something they know nothing about." Geiney knew the lesson quite well from stories about witch prosecution and witch hunters. He would roll his eyes when someone out on the street would say all witches are evil, when in reality, they were the same as all people. Some of them were good, while some were bad.

Luz smiled, at his response. "Do you understand why everything will be different now?" Geiney frowned; he didn't see anything else that could be different.

"No."

She had expected such an answer, and couldn't find the proper way to say it that wouldn't probably freak out.

"It's because now demons will be looking for us. Other forms of evil that will be out to kill us." Geiney's eyes travelled to the floor, but then stared up at Luz, his eyes furrowed and reflected the determination he felt inside.

"I'm not afraid. I'm ready for anything that comes at us." The answer took Luz by surprise. She was expecting Geiney to feel frightened or even panicked, but his words were sincere, filled with courage. Ailyn smiled, and crossed her arms over her chest. The tyke may be the person to keep the Diamond shining bright, Ailyn thought to herself.

"I guess I have nothing to worry about. But this is where the real training comes in, Geiney. Much of this training haunts Sara and me to this day, but don't fear. We will stand with you every step of the way."

"I'm ready. I won't let another demon hurt us." He promised. Ailyn could have sworn she saw a flash of light come out of Geiney, but that could have been a trick of the light. He was sitting close to a window, so Ailyn just assumed it was a flash of light from outside.

It was a while later when Luz, Sara and Ailyn were in the living room; each had a drink in their hands. Luz held a glass of ice tea, Sara held a cup of coffee, and Ailyn held a glass of ice water.

"Geiney can't stop reading the book." Luz joked and eyed where his bedroom was located at.

"Maybe he'll learn something good from it." Sara said.

"Or maybe, he'll say a spell out loud and have it backfire on him. That would be great." Ailyn laughed and Luz threw a playful slap her way but Ailyn dodged it.

"You guys should stop laughing. That isn't funny." Sara tried and failed to contain the smirk she had plastered on her face.

"Then why are you laughing?" Luz accused. Sara easily became flustered and wouldn't look her younger sister in the eyes.

"Because! Something funny happened at work." Luz narrowed her eyes and studied Sara's and gasped.

"Liar, you totally think that would be funny!"

"Okay, I do!" She admitted.

"You know things are going to be a lot different. But the Elders think it's going to be for the better." Ailyn repeated what her superiors had said.

"I hope it does go well. We almost didn't become witches because I was close to stripping our powers." Luz admitted, and Sara raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know that." Sara frowned.

"I'm sorry, Sara, I had my doubts… but I guess after that demon vanquish, I realized that even though our training haunts us, there's no escaping our destiny." Sara gave a half embrace on the couch and rested her head in Luz' shoulder.

"It's okay. Those days are over. I'm just glad Ailyn was able to sneak us out of there."

"I remember. I'm sorry I couldn't help you beforehand. I always visited your family and gave them news on what was going on around the world, including the underworld. But never did I imagine that your parents trained you like that. It was almost military-like. Almost like an adult training camp." She muttered.

"Well, you did help us out. I don't know what would've happened if you didn't find us in time."

"I don't even want to think about it."

"Everything is going to be different now. We are going to have to be more careful in what we do." Luz reiterated and everyone agreed.

"But the good news is that we're all going to be here for each other, no matter what comes our way." Ailyn said and Luz smiled widely. Sara looked at the clock and noticed how late it was.

"I've got to pick something up before the office closes, but I'll be back soon." Everyone saw her off and it was only Ailyn and Luz left.

Don't worry, Luz, everything will turn out fine in the end. Geiney is ready and so are you. I won't let you guys out of my sight. I promise." She hugged her friend and she orbed out into the heavens for another brief assignment.

Luz walked around until she spotted a portrait on the wall of Luz, Sara, and Ailyn. With them was a younger version of Geiney. She smiled and touched Geiney's face, and closed her eyes. She knew this was going to be a very difficult chapter in their lives. However, she was going to lead it the way she wanted to. She passed by a mirror and studied her new determined look etched in her features. Her parents might have been overzealous, but she was going to correct that.

She studied her hands, and watched them clench. It was time to gather the strength inside of her and bring it back out. She remembered fighting to protect herself and her sister when they were younger. Now it was time to bring that warrior out again, because this time, Geiney would be fighting alongside them. She needed to protect her brother and her sister. She knew it was going to take time to find that strength again, but she was going to find it one demon at a time.


	4. Crush Crushed

Geiney sat cross legged in the attic with the Book of Shadows in his lap. He had spent his evening reading the Book of shadows after rapidly finishing his homework. To say he was excited about the Book of Shadows was an understatement, in Luz's words; Geiney was thrilled to be around the book. He held the book open with one hand while the other held a cookie he nibbled on. When he finished the cookie, his hand travelled to the floor, where a small bag of cookies sat next to him, and grabbed a new cookie. He repeated this motion as he continued reading. He was reading the first chapter on Crystals and his eyes travelled to the image of the crystal after reading the name of each stone. His eyes absorbed every detail in the book, and soaked up the knowledge like a sponge.

He saw a word he knew all too well; agate. His eyes sailed to the end of the page where a square shaped rock, rounded on the edges, was drawn. The drawing showed the detail of the stone from its layers to its rings. Parts of the stone were light in comparison to the dark marks on a different part of the stone. His eyes travelled back to its original position.

Agate crystals, huh? Agate tones and strengthens the body and mind of an individual. Agate helps increase inner stability and maturity, and can help a person stay calm in tense situations. The stone can help with an individual's physical strength if it is worn around the wrist. For pregnant women, it is best to wear below their abdomen for a strong child and around their neck to help with lactation. For men wearing Agate around their neck can help boost their courage, and allows them to channel their inner strength. Because this stone helps an individual's inner stability, it helps stop material and luxurious desires and helps the mind focus on more important things such as commitments or jobs.

On a spiritual level, Agate is grounding, yet energetic. It helps promote marital fidelity and traps negative energy in the form of an unfaithful spouse. Depending on the crystal color, it can help with certain Chakras and attitudes, but colors and results may vary.

Geiney took two bites out of his cookie and reached down to fish for another cookie, then turned the page as he munched on the cookie in his mouth. Blue Lace Agate, a branch of the Agate family, read the subtitled text. Geiney located the image and studied its features. The stone was round and even for a drawing, the stone looked rather smooth. Geiney noted that someone spent a good amount of time drawing the detail on the image as it depicted the stone's layers and its blue color contrast which varied in combination from light to dark to light. Another bite, and as he was chewing, he reached down and grabbed another cookie from the bag.

Blue Lace Agate is used for Arthritic conditions, and can be used to break the barriers that hold an individual down. It helps clear the mind and allows the individual to see what's really important. If worn on the arms, it heals physical ailments such as arthritis or sore muscles. For women wearing the stone on both wrists well help with emotional ailments and stress, and for men, wearing the stone on their belts or buckles will help to bring emotional balance and clarity within them.

He heard his name being called and looked up to see Luz standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face.

"You know you have quite the repetition when you read. I wonder if you do that all the time."

"What do you mean?" He asked as he respectfully closed the book and tucked it underneath his arm.

"You bite, chew, read, grab a cookie, bite, chew read. I think I should make you my lab rat." She joked. Geiney playfully swatted her on the arm and rolled his eyes.

"So did you actually want something or did you just come here to bother me?"

"Sara is taking us to dinner; she seems a bit tired so I'm driving us to the restaurant." It took Geiney a moment to realize that today was the first day of her editing job for the new client. He looked at the clock, and read the time, seven-thirty.

"Woah! Did she just get home?" He asked, incredulously. She nodded and fiddled with her keys.

"She's going to tell us how everything went tonight. So get yourself ready we leave soon." She ruffled his hair and walked out. Geiney placed the book back on its stand and ran his fingers over the raised bump where the flat diamond symbol lay etched into the book. He smiled before he too walked out of the room and readied himself.

It wasn't until they sat down at a booth that Geiney got to really look at Sara's face. Her eyes looked droopy as if she had cried for a long time, but he knew it had to be because of her work. Her cheeks were a bit pale and her hair looked a little disheveled.

"Sara, you look tired." She flashed a smile, and nodded.

"I am tired. That's what thirteen hours of editing in a row does to you. My bosses were so happy with the editing and it looks like I am way ahead of schedule, so I don't have to work myself so hard now."

"What did you do today to the shots?" Luz asked as the hostess brought everyone a large glass of water. She took their drink orders and then Sara continued.

"I cropped every shot, every video to perfection and even got started piecing everything together. But, that's only the beginning. Then, we have to draw up a plan on how we want the video to look which includes sound, lighting, effects, even more cropping, music, and any additional effects that we think would fit the video. After that, we show the concept to the president of HealthyLife and he will be a very happy client." Their drinks arrived and Sara gulped half the glass before setting the glass down and picking up her menu, quickly scanning and folding the menu closed.

"It would've been faster if Troy had actually _helped_ ," She stressed the word with gritted teeth, "instead he kept sobbing over everything that went wrong with his shots."

"Isn't Troy the boss of the cinematography branch of Abstaks?" Ailyn asked. Sara nodded, giving out a small smile.

"He is the one. And when I didn't listen to his sobbing pleas he got mad. In the end, I reminded him that I was in charge of editing and to take his sobbing butt out of my office."

"Jeez, direct much?" Geiney questioned, raising an eyebrow. Sara gave a sheepish smile, and chuckled.

"Well, he got all offended, stormed out of my office and went straight to production where he yelled at the tech crew, hurt the actor's feelings, which caused him to get pushed to the floor. He came back crying over _that_ when he returned to my office." Luz laughed.

"Oh, sister, it looks like in the end, women will rule the earth." Luz sighed.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Geiney threw his arms up.

"I don't know; he is still a boy, not a man." Geiney pouted. Their drinks arrived and it spared Luz a verbal battle of the sexes.

"But the shot is coming along nicely, and I hope to take a copy home. The shots were so beautiful, and the models they used, oh my god, Troy did the makeup himself and they turned out fabulous. They resembled goddesses in the take. It actually made me jealous, they were very beautiful women."

"But you're beautiful too." Luz said as she gave her sister a one armed hug.

"I think she looks like a frog." This time, Sara pouted, Luz glared and Ailyn spit out her drink.

"What?" He asked. The waiter arrived at the table and asked if everyone was ready to order, saving Geiney from death by his older sisters.

The night went on with Sara seeming to get visibly more tired until Luz called it a night and hauled everyone back to their home. Geiney wanted to rush back to the Book of Shadows but Ailyn stopped him and reminded him that he had school the next day. He trudged back to his bedroom, with his shoulders dramatically slumped as he tried his best to summon tears in his eyes, which clearly was not working. All it did was made him look angry; Ailyn rolled her eyes and pointed at his bedroom. He sighed, gave up and returned to his room where he closed the door and prepared to go to bed.

"Dude, I think she likes you!" Geiney's friend, Charlie, told him. Geiney, his best friend, Luke, and Charlie were crowded around his desk as they stared at his bewildered eyes.

"Oh, come on! What girl would ever like me?" He paused as he understood what he just said, "Wait, let me rephrase that."

"Well, that's just sad." Luke commented and Geiney rolled his eyes.

"Look, think about it," Charlie spoke, "A lot of people have said that she asks questions about you, you are one of the few people she talks to, and you don't make her gag, you don't gross her out—"

"Okay, what's your point?" He interrupted, clearly not liking where this conversation was going.

"I'm just saying that she has a thing for you. You should ask her out." Geiney, clearly flustered over this new knowledge, stuttered his next response.

"Let' s go over this again," He listed on his fingers, "She's a popular transfer student from England, she's hot, she's very smart, she gets along with everyone including the jocks, oh and did I mention that she is hot? Now look at her, then look at me, look at her, and then back to me... You see why I have a problem with that?" Luke opened his mouth to speak but Charlie had cut him off.

"Yes! That you are a lucky bastard! I wish she was my girlfriend!" He started beating Geiney in the chest and sobbing into his shoulder, "Why can't that be my girlfriend!"

Geiney sighed, "Guys, I'm telling you, she can't have a crush on me. I say this is a trap."

"Well, unless she is a guy dressed as a girl, I don't see any traps." Luke clapped Geiney on the shoulder. Before anything else could be said the bell rang and everyone started filing in from the outside. Just then, the topic of the conversation appeared and greeted her girlfriends at the back of the classroom.

"There's Alex." Charlie whispered.

"Good Luck!" Luke said.

"I hate you so much right now!" Charlie threatened, leaving a flustered Geiney to himself. The teacher appeared and called for everyone to be seated for roll call. When that was finished, he walked up to the front of the class and clapped his hands together.

"Now, class! Starting today we will be starting our literature on To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. So everyone pick a partner so we can head down to the library and check out a copy of the book." Their teacher said confidently. Geiney eyed the student he wanted to study with, Alice, but his two friends appeared from seemingly nowhere and pushed him to where Alex was sitting as the two boys walked out of the classroom. Alex was a recent transfer student from England. Her full name was Alexandria, but she preferred to be called Alex for short. She became a pretty popular subject around school and was pretty popular herself. It seemed all the guys were fighting amongst themselves to keep her as their prize; however Alex soon shot every boy down. Alex turned her head and pursed a smile, Geiney shyly approached her.

"Hey, Alex." He greeted. Her lips widened into a smile. Alex had silky blond hair, and a birthmark the shape of what looked like a tiger tooth near her right eye. The stained birthmark was olive compared to her porcelain complexion. She had a bright smile and rose lips. Her deep blue eyes seemed to be bright and full of life.

"Hi, Geiney!"

"Do you want to be my partner for this book?" He stuttered and Alex giggled at his nervousness. From the classroom window he could see his two friends nodding their heads and giving him thumbs up, while Charlie mouthed something that Geiney couldn't understand, but if he had to take a guess it was a promise that he would kill him.

"I would love to." Geiney rubbed the back of his head as the class's commotion died down, everyone heading down to the library to check out the classroom copy of the book they were assigned to read. He led the way as she read the summary aloud of what the book was about to Geiney.

Across the classroom, a lone girl held her pencil so tight in her hands that it snapped in half. She gritted her teeth together; she didn't like that girl at all. She was supposed to be partners with Geiney, as it had always been. Geiney and Alice; not Geiney and Alex. Alice snapped out of her anger when the teacher called out to her.

"Alice? Do you not have a partner?"

"No, everyone seems taken." The teacher flipped a folder open and quickly scanned its contents.

"That's right. Since Alex joined us, we are an uneven class." Alice clenched her fist in anger at hearing that girl's name again.

"Well, you're welcome to join someone and make a group of three. It's better to have a partner in this project, so see if you can find a group." Alice smiled, happy to hear that news. She would surely join Geiney's group for sure, and keep him from that "other" girl. She grabbed her handbag and started for the door, following the teacher out the classroom.

 _What is it about that girl that everyone likes? She may be pretty, but she is not smart! I'm much more intelligent than her, in any subject. Well, I guess, the reason why all the boys want to have her is cuz she's little miss England._ Alice scoffed mentally, crossing her arms and following the hallways towards the library. _Perfect little miss England, with her perfect looks and her weird accent and her snotty fashion, and that ugly face of hers. If she wants, I can fix up that ugly face for her. I can fix it so good that she'll look like a-"_

"Alice! Where are you going?" The teacher called out to her, one eyebrow raised in confusion, his hand holding the library door open. Alice had missed the library and continued walking out. She coughed in embarrassment before returning, red faced to the library. She looked around and saw Geiney stand up from one of the tables in the library and head towards some shelves in the back of the library. She gritted her teeth and pulled a happy smile, as best as she could anyways.

"Hey, Alex!" She greeted happily, in a quiet voice.

"Yes, Alice?" She asked, with a smile on her face, in the same quiet voice Alice had displayed.

"I was going to join you're group because I'm by myself." Something in Alex's face flashed something which Alice could not quite catch.

"Oh, I'm sorry Alice, but it's just gonna be me and Geiney for this project. So you should look for someone else." She waved her hand to dismiss Alice away from her.

"But the teacher said it was okay." She frowned. Alex's eyes changed and she leaned in so that only the two of them could hear.

"You know what, Alice," She spit out her name in disgust, "I don't care what the teacher said. I don't want you to work with us. So why don't you take your butt out of our table and look for someone else, okay?" Alice clenched her fist and stormed out into the other side of the library. Geiney turned the corner and saw her walk towards the bookshelves on the other side of the tables.

"Hey, was that Alice?" Geiney questioned, sitting down and displaying two soft cover copies of the book they were assigned to read.

"Thank you, Geiney! And yeah, that was her. She just wanted to borrow a pencil from me, that's all." She shrugged happily and pulled her chair closer to his so that they could start on their assignment. Every now and then Geiney would try to catch a glimpse of Alice, but he didn't see her. Eventually he gave up and focused his attention to the questionnaire they were assigned to do.

On occasion his mind would wonder to the Book of Shadows, wishing he could read some more, but that would have to wait until school was out. He looked at the clock, and smiled happily. Another half hour and school would be over.

 _Good, I can wait another half hour,_ He thought to himself as he pulled his book open and started reading the first page to Alex. Every now and then Alex would purposefully brush her fingers against his arm, and Geiney would have to fight to stay focused on their assignment. He noted that her hands were really warm and her melon scented hair seemed to flood his nose. It was a battle of control for his mind to stay focused, and Alex seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. Geiney's cheeks flushed with color and Alex knew that snatching Geiney in her love spell would be easier than she thought it would be.

"Doctor Danson?" Luz knocked on the door to the head doctor's office, carrying a stack of folders in her hands. She wore her typical blue scrubs nursing uniform, with a pink handkerchief sticking out of her back pocket, "I thought we should review these insurance claims while you have a moment. This way we can make any last minute changes before we send them out." The Doctor yawned and beckoned Luz to come in.

"Sure, we can do it now. I don't have any patients for an hour." He muttered.

"John, are you okay? You don't sound too good." She asked as she took a chair next to him and his desk. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"No, it's my damn apartment. There's a god 'awful stench coming from somewhere and its keeping me awake. The worst part is I think it's the plumbing, where it's coming from who knows." He replied.

"Why don't you talk to the Supers of the apartment?"

"Don't you think I did that?!" He burst, Luz was not surprised, "That Damn lazy super from Germany, what was his name? Hansel or Gretel! I left him like seven messages over two weeks and he still won't call me back. I swear I just want to take that job of his and ram it down his throat!" He tried to write something but the pen he was using wouldn't work. He licked the tip and scratched on the document roughly, and finally he threw the pen across the room, hitting the wall behind him, "We need new pens!"

Not fazed by his outbursts, since he usually had several, every day, she sighed. "Calm yourself, Doctor. I'm sure he's very busy."

"No, yeah. He is very busy wasting his money on booze and hookers. No, I'm sorry for being so hard on Mr. Hansel, I should be more understanding. I don't know how hard it is to be drunk and lay with hookers all day. I'll tell you that it's a very difficult job to do. I couldn't imagine myself doing it." Luz rolled her eyes, at his sarcasm, having worked with him long enough to no longer be frightened by his outbursts.

"I'm sure if you talk to the manager, things will get fixed." She gasped, "Oh I forgot to tell you, Federal Care called about Mr. Meyers' claim and they sent you a fax to review the information and make sure it's correct. It's about his oral medication; they want to make sure the amount on the document is what he should take every day. I'll go bring it." She stood up and he nodded grabbing the first folder and reviewing his notes he wrote on their chart. He scribbled something down, and added his signature before closing the folder and grabbing a new one.

"Here you go." The doctor took the folder and reviewed the documents before scratching out something. "I'm glad I caught that." He sounded surprised, "I almost gave him a good flight instead of giving him pain medication." Luz nodded understanding, she knew they could not afford to make any mistakes, no matter how small, or someone might consider it neglect and the last thing the Doctor's practice needed was a malpractice case.

She opened the next folder and began explaining each insurance policy. While the doctor knew how each insurance policy worked, Luz was an expert in reading between the lines and saved not only the patients, but the practice from paying out of pocket. When they finished the Doctor gave an audible yawn and stood up.

"Doctor Danson, you should sleep earlier tonight. It might help you." She suggested.

"I might, unless that damn super decides to barge in into my apartment. The last time he barged in he caught me naked in the apartment. Luz groaned in disapproval, shaking the disgusting image from her mind.

"Too much info, doc." She rolled her eyes and picked up her stack of folders.

"I'm going to send these right away; I have Andy covering me in the reception."

"Good. Who's next?" He wrapped his stethoscope around his neck and walked alongside Luz.

"I believe it is little Timothy, you wanted to see how his hand was healing after two weeks in the cast." The Doctors face lit up, as he remembered.

"Yes, the boy who fell down from the tree. I remember. I swear kids should just keep to themselves and not be doing stupid things like climbing up trees. When I was little-" Luz turned sharply around the corner, avoiding the Doctor's painfully long and boring story.

"And I'm gone!" She whispered to herself as she took the folders to their supply room where a tower all in one printer lay. She checked her clip board and matched the folder to the name as she dialed the number for the fax. The door opened and a young female nurse stepped in, she looked startled by seeing Luz standing there in front of the copy machine.

"Oh, Luz, I was just looking for some blank paper, is all." She pulled on a smile but Luz raised her eyebrow, not believing the young woman.

"It's on the first cabinet to the left of the copy machine." It took a minute before the young woman realized Luz was not going to move.

"Sierra." Luz smirked, the young woman losing her smile for an instant before going back to the smile. She walked over to the cabinet, opened it and pulled out a half used box of blank printer paper. As she was going to walk out, she stopped and turned around.

" 'Kay here's the thing," She started and Luz let out a chuckling sigh.

"Yes, Sierra?"

"Can't we put a TV in the reception room?"

"No," was her simple reply.

"But, Luz!" She whined, "It's so boring and quiet in the reception room. And our clients can't read the same old boring magazines we supply. We don't even have a radio playing."

"We're not supposed to. This is a doctor's office, not a hotel lobby." Luz pushed a few buttons on the console and the fax resumed.

"Oh, come on, Luz! You are the only one who can talk to Doctor Danson and not get your butt chewed! Please, just ask him for me."

"I said no. Besides, Doctor Danson and I already had this chat a few years ago; he is not going to buy a TV. Need I remind you he is a penny pincher? Literally. He rounds down so he can save a penny for each paycheck he gives us." Sierra clasped her hands together and pulled on her puppy-dog eyes.

"Pretty please?" Luz sighed, as she stared at the sparkly puppy eyes being presented to her. _How can she pull that look off?_

"Oh, alright. I will bring it up to Doctor Danson the next time we speak. But if he says no, don't go crying your eyes out." Sierra jumped and hugged Luz who looked unamused by Sierra's reaction.

"Thank you, Luz! You're the best! I don't care what Doctor Danson says about you!" She ran out, giddy and almost ran into another receptionist on her way down the halls.

"I better not catch you watching the TV." She paused before she furrowed her eyes together and calling out into the hallways, "Wait! What has he been saying about me?" Sierra's hands just waved her off.

"Wait! Sierra! I need to know!" She groaned as she shut the door. She was going to have to talk to Sierra about what the Doctor had been saying about her.

The feminine man known as Troy Brooks clapped his hands giddy that the editing was going his way.

"Oh, Sara, darling. You do the best work in the whole world. And I mean that girl! No one could hold a candle to your name!"

"Thanks, Troy." She smiled and continued cropping images from the video file she was working on. Certain images needed a touch of this while others needed a touch of that. She would write down what she did to each video file and continued piecing together the puzzle that was to be, in Troy's words, their best work yet! Obviously Troy raised the bar, again, and now Sara had to pull a miracle to make this their actual best work yet. Not that she minded the challenge.

"Hm, Troy, do you think I should stiffen the scarf in this shot?" She asked and pointed to the looping video file. During the shot, the wind machine was set to a higher setting so the first two takes was ruined. This was the third take, but the wind machine kept whipping the scarf around the models neck. Troy watched the video loop for a minute then made a high pitched whine. After a moment of this, in Sara's words, annoying whine, he clapped his hands together.

"No, we can keep it, it has the appearance of natural wind and it makes it look like the scarf is licking her cheeks, not erratically, but enough to make the shot look beautiful. Well that was an accident that went well with the shot." He clapped his hands together and groaned, "I hope there are no other accidents." He sighed melodramatically, "What if our shots are ruined!?" Sara face palmed, the only thing she didn't like about Troy was his ability to over dramatize everything.

"Troy, sweetie." She took his hands in hers and rubbed them, providing comfort for a moment. Then she gripped his hands like a vice and he shrieked, trying to pull his hands away from her to no avail.

"If you start this all over again... I am going to shove that computer screen down your throat. Okay, pumpkin?" She said the last part sweetly, and he pulled his hands free.

"Ow... okay then. I'll leave you to you work. Damn, can't bother to listen to your boss vent?"

"No!" She said matter-of-factly. His shoulders slumped and the movement unsettled the colorful bangs covering his eyes.

"Very well then, I will be in my office. I don't want to be disturbed!" He waltzed over to his office door and slammed the door shut.

"Oh, thank god!" She muttered before stretching and writing down her latest notes for the video file she was in. She saved the project and pulled up another video file as she continued to work on the project. She looked at the clock and realized school just ended and Luz would pick him up. She glanced at the family picture she had on her desk and smiled. She picked up the picture frame and kissed it; placing it back on her desk she resumed working on her project.

After a while she heard a loud shriek come from Troy's office. She bolted upright and ran straight to his office, barging in and seeing Troy strangle a human sized teddy bear, very angrily.

"Uh, Troy?" She was very confused by his actions. He turned to her and she noticed his teary eyes, his anger lingered on his face before he bit his lip and dropped the bear, and sobbed into his hands.

"Sara! Alphie broke up with me!" He opened his arms and trudged over to Sara, embracing her into a hug. Sara didn't know what to do and she shuddered when she felt him wipe his nose on her blouse.

"Okay, Troy, get off me!" He reluctantly released her and she brought him to his desk where he kicked the teddy bear to the other side of the room.

"Now, tell me what happened." She sat across from him, keeping her distance because he was known to give bear hugs and she didn't feel like going home to a broken spine.

"He—he-he he said that he didn't want to hurt me and that he liked me but he thinks i-i-it's time to give each other some space," He sniffed and she handed him some tissues from her pocket. He audibly blew his nose before continuing, "All I wanted was to hear him—him say 'I love you'. That's all I needed, was just to hear him say that. But now he thinks-thinks we should give each other some space. I don't understand! What did I d—d-d-do t—t-t-to deserve this! Please, Sara, tell me what I did wrong?" He sobbed into his arms, and Sara had a very puzzled expression on her face. She took a moment to piece the subject together.

"So, you called him just to hear him say, 'I love you', but instead he comes out with 'we should see other people'. How was your relationship this week?"

"We—we-well we have been fighting a lot. But I thought we were just going through a—a-a r—r-rough patch. I loved him! I gave him my heart and soul! Why would he do this t—to m—me now? Oh, Alphie!" Sara groaned, and rubbed her temple, this was going to be yet another long day.

The bell to the school rang out and as expected, everyone caused a ruckus trying to get out of their scholarly prison. Geiney packed his bag and placed the work they had done together in his bag.

"You should come over sometime this week, so we can get ahead of everyone else." Alex said, as she handed him a note in perfect handwriting, using a pink pen, she wrote her phone number and home address. Geiney's cheeks turned as pink as her handwriting upon seeing the two little hearts next to his name.

"Call me anytime. I'll be expecting you." She walked out and Geiney cleared his throat as he memorized the information that she gave him. Upon leaving the library, daydreaming about Alex, he accidentally bumped into Alice, dropping the books she had cradled in her arm.

"Sorry, Alice." He picked up the fallen books and handed them to her, she looked thoughtful.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned for his friend.

"Yes. I mean no. Well... I don't think Alex is a good partner for you. You should get someone else." She bluntly put. Geiney recoiled at the idea of leaving Alex. He imagined her alone without a partner, and seeing her saddened face as she read the book by herself. Okay, Geiney had no idea where those thoughts came from but he focused his attention back to Alice.

"I can't do that to her. Then she won't have a partner. Besides I won't have a partner either."

"You'll have me." She blurted out.

"You?" Geiney questioned, "Don't you have a partner?"

"Not yet."

"Then you could join us, it'll be great." He said and flinched when Alice shouted her displeasure.

"No! I mean- Look, I'm the better partner here. Alex is mean and she'll just use you for her personal gain." Geiney furrowed his eyebrows, not believing that Alex could be mean to anyone.

"She is not mean. Maybe, you're just jealous. Isn't that right?" Alice scoffed.

"Jealous of what?"

"She is the most popular girl in school and everyone likes her." He defended her.

"Please, Geiney. That girl is nothing but trouble. Switch partners."

"No, I've already told you that I won't do that to Alex. I thought you were my friend, why are you picking on her?" For a moment, Alice stayed quiet and Geiney shook his head. He walked past her without saying another word. He felt betrayed that his childhood friend was against this girl. He let out a breath he was holding in and released it slowly. He absentmindedly put his hand in his pocket and felt something crinkle in his pants. He took the piece of paper out and realized it was Alex's number. He smiled and thought he would call her later that day. For now, Luz should be waiting for him outside by now.

He spotted the familiar car outside and waved at his oldest sister. He got in the car and buckled up.

"How was school?" She asked.

"It was good, but Alice is jealous of Alex, the new transfer student and wants me to switch with her instead of Alex."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her I couldn't and that she should stop being so jealous."

"I haven't met Alex yet. What is she like?"

"Well she's a transfer student from England, and she has an awesome British accent. She's sweet," He smiled as he pictured her, "She's popular, she's very friendly and she has the prettiest blond hair I've ever seen." He turned to Luz and she smiled knowingly.

"Oh, and you're just friends right? You sound like you love her! Geiney and Alex sitting in a tree-" Geiney smacked her in the arm.

"Cut it out!" He blushed as red as a tomato, and she couldn't help but laugh at his shyness.

"No, I guess you're more than just friends if the way you described her was anything to go by."

"Are you done?" He asked rather annoyed.

"For now." She replied, "I was thinking we could go out to eat. I don't feel like cooking dinner tonight. What do you think?" Geiney shrugged and then smiled.

"Let's go to Wong's!" Geiney cried. Wong's was a popular Chinese restaurant in the center of town that the siblings rather enjoyed. The restaurant was run by a Chinese sorcerer, who knew Ailyn through their work and invited them over to eat when Geiney was still a young child. Ten years later, they ate regularly there, and became great friends of the family who ran the restaurant.

Luz smiled and nodded. "I'll call the others when we get to the house." She said.

When they arrived Geiney dropped off his bag in his room and lay down on the bed. He breathed out slowly and thought back to what Alice said. He shook his thoughts away, and frowned. Alex was sweet and amazing; he failed to see how she could be a bad person. Remembering he had her phone in his pocket, he decided to give her a call.

After dialing, the phone number he hesitated in pressing the call button, but when he did he noticed his heartbeat increased. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and each ring felt like it took an eternity. Finally on the third ring, a male voice picked up.

"Good afternoon. Taylor residence."

"Oh, uh. Hello. Is Alex at home?" He felt really nervous.

"Yes, she is. To whom am I speaking with?"

"Oh, my name is Geiney. I go to the same class as Alex." He was finding that his bedroom was getting hotter. Maybe, he thought, someone set the house on fire.

"Oh, that's right! She's told me quite a bit about you. Let me get her on the phone. Give me one minute." He chuckled.

"That's okay. Take all the time you need." He furrowed his eyebrows, why did he have to say that. He heard the man chuckle and set the phone down. It was one of the longest waits, Geiney ever had. What was only half a minute felt like it had dragged on for an eternity.

"Hello? This is Alex."

"Alex!" He cupped his mouth. That might have been a little too loud. She heard him giggle.

"Gee, couldn't wait an hour I see. That's okay. I told my dad about you and agreed to have you over."

"Really? Cool, so when do you want me to visit you. I mean, so we can get ahead in our reading project." He felt like he couldn't breathe. Or maybe, she was sucking the air through the telephone... yeah, that could be it.

"Well, how about tomorrow afternoon? It's Saturday and we can spend the day reading a chapter or two. What do you say?"

"Y-y-yeah that'll be great!" He stammered, and felt like the world was spinning, although his was from pure happiness. Being with a girl, in a girl's room, in a girl's house- wow, he sounded desperate. He shook his head of distracting thoughts for the umpteenth time that day.

"Great! How's three o'clock sound?"

"That sounds great. I'll see you then."

"Okay! Thanks for calling, Geiney. Bye-bye!" She said and hung up the phone. Geiney, in euphoria, said good bye, and went to put the phone on the dresser but completely missed and dropped the phone to the floor. He ignored the clattering sound and stumbled to the bed, where he laid face down. He fought with his body to control his being and get his breathing back to normal. He wiped some sweat off his forehead and breathed slowly.

"Tomorrow is gonna be great!" He sighed. A few minutes passed before he heard his older sisters calling him down.

"Geiney, come down, Ailyn will be here any minute!"

"Coming!" He called and put on his red wristbands with the black flat diamond etched into them. He picked up his phone from the floor, pondering why it was doing on the floor when he put it on top of the dresser.

"Hey, Geiney!" Sara greeted and gave him a hug.

"Hi, Sara!" He embraced her and stepped back.

"How was work?"

"Well, Troy is being Troy. Long story short he is having some personal boyfriend issues right now and he is venting it all to me... as I'm working on an important project. Even when I remind him, five minutes later, he is sobbing into a human sized teddy bear in his office crying out, "Alphie! Oh, Alphie! Please come back!" She blew a strand of hair out of her face,

"It took all my will power to calm him down, and then his boyfriend called and told him that he was taking his stuff with him. And that was when Luz called and asked if I wanted Chinese food. So I said yes."

"Oh! So that's what I heard in the background. I thought you had cats in the office."

"Well, he does sound like a cat when he cries, but that is not the point here!" At that moment they heard the door open and shut and Ailyn walked right passed them, deep in thought."

"Uh, Ailyn?" Luz called. Ailyn seemed to be so deep in thought that she missed the fridge twice, going to open it.

"Ailyn?" Sara tried, no response, if anything, it seemed Ailyn had not heard any one of them.

"Ailyn!" Luz shouted and clapped her hands. Ailyn's eyes flashed into focus once more and she saw everyone in the living room.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about something." She admitted sheepishly, completely embarrassed she had not seen them as she had passed.

"Yeah, you looked troubled. Is everything alright? Care to talk about it?" Sara questioned.

"No, no, it's quite alright now. Just thinking about an assignment for a future Whitelighter. That's all. Anyway, what are we having for dinner?

"Wong's!" Geiney blurted out, "How about it. Care to join us?"

Ailyn shrugged, "Sure. I was just in China by the way. The trees are beautiful and green this time of year." _Maybe this would be a good distraction for me._ She thought to herself.

"Well, great. Let's go." Luz ushered everyone to the car.

"What were you doing in China?" Geiney asked.

"Ah, I wanted some staves. Later tonight I will teach you how to defend yourself, Tyke." Ailyn talked about how she thought it would be a good idea for everyone to learn how to wield a staff, and it would be good for Geiney to learn how to physically defend himself. Geiney smiled widely, he couldn't wait for the training to begin.


	5. Something Wong

The young teenage girl sighed sweetly, audibly into the mouthpiece of the phone before hanging up. She loved her charms and how she was able to make putty out of the typical teenage boy. It was always the same; put a pretty girl in front of a hormonal boy and she was his queen. It was always like that, and she preferred it that way. She was able to make boys her servants and anything she desired, she received.

"Did you actually make the twerp fall for you?" croaked the man, Athame in hand, picking his fingernails with the tip of the blade. He really hated human blood drying on his hands. The old couple that resided in the house were finally no more. He was tired of hearing the same terrified, agonizing muffled screams, and, as a demon, decided to be merciful for once and end their pathetic lives.

The girl, adorned in pink clothes that differed from her school choice, twirled around and smiled sweetly at the man. Having completely gone into character, she often forgot who she really was sometimes. Today was no exception, and the demon next to her was starting to get really agitated.

"Who? You mean, Geiney?" She audibly sighed, hugged her body close and twirled around, earning a groan of disgust from the man, "Isn't he just the sweetest, most charming boy ever? And to think, he fell for me and me alone!" She giggled, and the man growled. Shape shifters were definitely too into the roles that they play. He tried to control his anger; the bounty was great if they were to obtain all three powers. It's the only reason he even took the stupid job down in the underworld.

"You disgust me, Shape shifter. Why don't you change back to your true form?" He spat. She dropped her smile and glared at the man, placing a hand on her hip. She had heard that request many times since they partnered up for the mission.

"Why should I? I have to keep up appearances." She replied, flicking her hair behind her shoulder.

"I hate humans! But," He approached her and placed a hand on her lower back, "I wouldn't mind seeing you in your true form." He whispered, seductively in her ear. The girl muttered something he could not catch, and she stepped back, dropping her human shell and morphing back into the creature she actually was. Her hair turned longer and darker, and her eyes became a black void, matching the color of her hair. Her teeth grew into large fangs that reached her lower lip, and her tongue became pointed, nothing more than a bloodred muscle. Her face became thinner, more oval shaped and pale. Her thin, delicate fingers became cold, sausage-like claws. Her arms turned white and her skin changed from smooth to ashy, her body colder. Alex became the true form of a shape shifter. The man smiled and eyed her possessively, like a piece of meat. He licked his cold, brittle lips.

"Is this what you want?" Her sweet voice, too, morphed into that of a deep, canine like growl. She looked unamused by the request of the man standing before her as he played with the Athame blade in his hands. He slowly circled around her, noticing that she had grown a few inches, and how her form seemed to be hunched over slightly. He eyed her up and down, capturing every inch of her body into his mind and imagining the most carnal of desires. Not once did she move; she let him have his moment, not that she cared either if he got his way with her or not. Her main concern was to obtain the witches' powers; afterwards, she might consider giving into, as other demons call it, 'succubi desires'.

"Yes," He hissed, enjoying himself a bit too much. She rolled her eyes, watching the man eye her like some kind of prize. Or maybe, she would tease him and leave him dry. She loved doing that to other demons, like it was some kind of game to her.

"Now I understand why no one wants to work with you. Lustful demon." She stressed the last word, as if she was insulted by the very word itself.

"Plenty of succubi have said otherwise. Come now, don't fight." He gave her a smug look, one that made her roll her eyes.

"And there are plenty of succubi who agree there is nothing special about your sexual drive. You leave every succubi feeling bored and dry. A human is better than you in that area." He turned around sharply and hissed, feeling his anger rise up.

"Silence! Don't compare me to that worthless piece of trash, not even worthy to stand before a demon's presence. We demons hate the human race!"

Clearing her throat, changing her voice back into Alex', "Ooh! Did I hurt the wittle demon's feewings?" She taunted him. Enraged, he picked up a nearby corner table and threw it at her. She caught the piece of furniture with one hand, unfazed by his reaction, and threw it behind her, sending it crashing into the nearby wall and making a hole in the drywall as the table splintered into multiple pieces. Some pieces had slid past Alex's feet, making her look down, then back up at the demon.

"Shut up! Worthless hag! Do not dare talk to me like that again! I'm one of the top demons in my class! You will show respect to me!" He demanded, breathing ragged, and knife pointing at the Shape shifter menacingly.

However. despite all of his threats, she never once showed fear, "As the humans would say, 'respect has to be earned'. And you have not shown it to me this entire job." The demon hissed and began pacing back and forth. The Shape shifter cracked her neck and morphed back into the popular teenage girl, Alex. She cleared her throat, voice too, changing into Alex's sweet feminine voice. She crossed her arms and glared at the demon in front of her. For a moment neither of them spoke; neither made a threatening move against the other. The demon continued to pace back and forth while her glare softened into annoyance.

"I have invited the boy over tomorrow afternoon for our study session. Besides Geiney, none of his family knows who we are, so it's likely someone will accompany him. I take Geiney, and you can kill whoever joins him. Just be sure to use the Athame over there." She pointed at the mysterious Athame on a wooden holder. The blade was double edged and on the hilt laid a red crystal in the shape of an egg. The handle had a symbol etched into the metal of the blade. It was an intricate pentacle with the head of the star pointing downwards. In the center of the star was a green Jewel, small but noticeable. The star was protected by swirls that came together to resemble multiple crescents. The star lay inside a circle that touched all five points evenly.

The demon walked over to it. There was another Athame behind the one he was examining. The blades were the same except the color of the egg shaped gem which was blue on the other blade.

"I had a set of Power Absorbent Athames made for such an occasion. These are quite expensive to make. I never take a job unprepared so I made one for each power. All you have to do is make sure to stab them, and the Athame will do the rest. Simple, right? Any more difficult, and I'm sure you wouldn't be able to handle it." She taunted. With a clench of his fist, he said nothing.

"Now then, daddy dearest," the demon hissed, "clean this place up. Because I have a really cute boy coming over." She giggled, twirled her hair between her fingers, and skipped her way back to her bedroom to prepare for the next day. The demon begrudgingly started cleaning the mess they had made, muttering almost incoherent babbles, mostly about his shape shifting partner.

"Stupid Shape shifter! I would be better working alone. I hate that mortal looking, over confident hag!" Midway cleaning the mess, an idea struck him. The contract he and the Shape shifter agreed to never said that both had to come back alive. He recited word for word what their contract had stated and the more he repeated, the more his smile grew crooked and evil. He smirked; all they had to do was use the three Athame blades on the witches, then he could kill the Shape shifter, and then all three powers would belong to him and him alone. The prize would be bigger with one demon anyways. He laughed to himself. All he needed to do was to wait for the opportune moment when the Shape shifter was not looking and strike her dead. With new resolve, he finished cleaning up the area, and upon seeing the hole in the wall from the impact of the table, dragged another piece of furniture big enough to cover the evidence.

He turned a corner and caught a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror. Unlike most demons in the underworld, he didn't give much thought to take care of his humanoid form. He already knew what he had to do, but he hesitated as he stared at himself. The thick mop of hair looked as if it had never been washed in his life, covered in excessive grease. He had dark circles surrounding his eyes and stubble all over his face. He looked exactly like the stereotypical serial killer one would see in the movies. His fingers traced his face, feeling the prickly stabs of stubble, scars, and skin. He frowned at himself, finally coming to the conclusion that he absolutely hated to think about. In order to succeed, he had to make himself look human. And as much as he hated to do it, he really had to make himself look like Alex's father. He sighed; he just needed to endure some humiliation for a bit, just until they get the Witches' powers, and then he could shed the ridiculous look and go back to the slimy, ugly looking demon he knew he was. That which he preferred to be.

Wong's was a popular Chinese restaurant in the center of town known for their excellent food, imported beer, and on weeknights, entertainment by the owner of the restaurant himself. Of course, no one would want to miss the magic shows he exhibited. They always captured the audience's attention, young and old alike.

Ailyn was the only one in the crowd that was not paying attention to the magical tricks the owner performed. The owner loved it when he looked into the eyes of a mesmerized person; he knew he had their full undivided attention and he loved it. Everyone else was staring, almost menacingly, most holding their breaths without realizing it as the owner pulled a rabbit out of his hat which he held flat on the palm of his hand while the other grabbed the ears of the rabbit. The rabbit kicked and twitched, trying to get away from his captor. Just as suddenly five more rabbits jumped out of the hat. The owner looked unprepared as he released the rabbit from his hand, allowing the six rabbits to roam the restaurant. The crowd gasped and applauded, thinking this was part of the show. Thinking fast, he grabbed the typical looking black and white magic wand and gave three whistles, and flicked the wand back and forth. The rabbits stopped, turned around and headed back to their master. He tapped a milk crate, a table and his hat, and as if taking orders, each rabbit in single file hopped to each object. First they jumped on top of the crate, then the table, and finally jumping inside the magicians' hat. After all six seemingly vanished, the crowd applauded with the younger children gasping in complete awe and pointing at the hat the owner held in his hands. He grabbed a white cloth and covered the top of the hat and winked at a little girl of about five years who blushed and looked away. One of the rabbits' heads popped out of the hat, his face covered by the cloth. The magician flinched, not expecting the rabbit to come out. The children laughed at the silliness of the rabbit. The magician gently patted the rabbit that sunk back down.

The owner waved his hand three times over the hat and flicked the cloth away, causing the young children to gasp, as if in horror, as the magician showed everyone the empty contents of the hat. Thunderous cheers were heard across the restaurant. The employees, dressed in black and white outfits, also applauded, doing their best to keep up the animated feeling inside the restaurant.

"For my next trick," He began, placing the hat and magic wand on a table behind him, "I will demonstrate Fire Color." He spoke in his Chinese-American accent. He picked up a small torch and using a lighter, he lit the end of the torch. The audience was silent, eager for the next trick. Ailyn placed her chin on her palm which she placed on the table, staring blankly at a spot on the wall near the owner. The owner saw this, and frowned for an instant. She seemed troubled, and he hoped he would be able to speak with her after the show. He didn't let his thought show to the public as he put on a big smile and grabbed some powder.

"Do all the boys and girls know the colors of the rainbow?" many nodded, while he saw others shake their head no. "The first color is red," he flicked a pinch and a cloud of smoke appeared but was quickly devoured in a sea of red flame. The hiss of the fire was drowned by the "ooh's" and "ah's" of the children. He grabbed another nearby jar and grabbed a pinch of the black powder.

"Orange." Another cloud of smoke, and another wave of color washed over the gray smoke, causing the audience to get louder and louder after each color. When the magician finished going through every color of the rainbow, he grabbed a fistful of powder and threw it into the fire, aiming the torch above the heads of the crowd. The cloud travelled a few meters above everyone's head, displaying every color of the rainbow simultaneously. It only lasted a moment but everyone loved it. When the encore had ended, he bowed in front of the audience. Thunderous applause and cries for more filled the restaurant. The magician smiled and bowed once more.

"Thank you, everyone! Thank you for coming tonight and watching our little show. Please enjoy the food, and the drinks to your heart's content. I will be here all week! Because I own this place." The adults chuckled and the employees began cleaning up after the show. He gave his magic wand to a little boy at one table, and the magician's hat was given to the little girl he winked at, and the white cloth was given to an older child who said he wanted to be just like him when he grew up.

The owner, after dressing down back into his work clothes, visited Ailyn's' table.

"Good evening Cuentas family." He greeted, as his head bowed slightly.

"Good evening, Wong. That was an amazing show! I never will understand how you do it." Luz complimented.

"Thank you. Your words are too kind, madam. I hope everything is to your liking?" He asked, referring to the food surrounding their table.

"It is amazing, Wong, as always. Thank you." Sara spoke.

"It's really good. Thanks!" Geiney complimented, going back to eating his plate of Sesame Chicken.

"Well, if Ailyn won't mind, can I speak with you?" He asked her, and Ailyn nodded, giving him a smile.

"Be right back." She spoke to the table.

"Hurry back!" Luz teased, knowing when Ailyn began talking there was no way of stopping her, or she took way too long. He led her into his office, where she sat down, and began speaking in Mandarin Chinese, his preferred language.

"What can I help you with?" Being a Whitelighter allowed her to have the Omni-linguist ability: to speak in any language regardless of not having any prior knowledge. As long as her charges spoke the language, she was able to respond in that language.

"I noticed you were distracted today. You didn't look like yourself, so it must be weighing down on your mind." She nodded, agreeing with him, "You didn't even realize I accidentally summoned six rabbits."

"You did what now?" She replied, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a slight glare.

"It was an accident. Too much of one ingredient," He referred to alchemy, which he had mastered in his own time, "The point is, your mind wasn't with you today. Tell me what's wrong." He folded his hands in his lap.

"You're still getting yelled at afterwards."

"Can't blame an old man for trying." He shrugged, sitting down in front of her.

"Do you remember the Cuentas manor? The manor where you helped some students train in sorcery and alchemy?"

"Ah, yes. I spent ten years teaching there, many years ago when I came here from China. Mr. Cuentas offered me a job, and said he would help me and my family migrate to this country if I taught sorcery at his school. It was a very lovely ten years, with many smiles but also many struggles. But I wouldn't change it for the world."

Ailyn sighed, taking a moment to compose herself, recalling the events for that day. She held her spear behind her body, listening intently to every sound and watching every movement, anything that would alert her to an intruder nearby. Fortunately for her, she arrived at her destination without any trouble. But all the same, it was better to be cautious than to alert all the wrong people, or in this case, demons. When she arrived closer to the manor, she noticed the situation surrounding the familiar manor. She counted four demons patrolling the front of the manor; three guarding the door, and one inside the entryway of the manor as noticed from the windows, however, she didn't know how many more were inside the manor.

Using the forest around her, she maneuvered skillfully around the property at varying distances, taking in as much detail as possible. She felt a pang of guilt for not being here in their time of need. Nevertheless, she was thankful that the owners weren't here. Her sensing ability didn't sense any life inside the manor; so she assumed that they were no longer on the property. Or they could be dead, but Ailyn didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it, or perhaps she didn't actually want to believe it. She stared at the manor, now half destroyed. She smiled a little to herself; the owners of the manor didn't go down without a fight. Her smile quickly turned into a lip bite as memories of the owners filled her mind, as well as the young faces of Luz and Sara. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind; now was not the time. But why wasn't she alerted to this? She could have helped during the attack…

Six more demons appeared some distance in front of her; she gasped and crouched behind the tree next to her. She concluded that whatever the reason these demons were here, it was for something serious.

"Look! It's lord-flees-a lot!" a group of laughter rang out, and Ailyn moved her head to the side, getting a view of what was happening to the group a short distance away from her. The demon in the middle of the group threw a fireball at one of the demons, probably the one that instigated the insult, and vanquished him on the spot. The laughter stopped, and for a moment, nothing else happened. Even the wind stopped blowing.

"Anyone else have something to say?" Silence continued to ring out, and the man roared in laughter.

"I thought so!" His gruff voice echoed throughout the property, "Everyone fall inside! Belphegor wants to speak with us." She watched with curious eyes as everyone entered the manor in a single file line. Ailyn was about to get up when she quickly crouched behind the tree, seeing a new demon appear. The demon looked around and beckoned to no one in particular. Five demons appeared, surrounding a man in black and purple robes. She didn't know who they were and wondered if the demon in black and purple robes was Belphegor. They silently entered the manor and Ailyn waited for five minutes. When nothing happened, she stood up, and furrowed her eyebrows as a gleam of light caught her eye. She studied her surroundings until she knew she wouldn't get caught and orbed next to the object that had caught her eye.

It was an arm band, and she assumed it was from the demon that they vanquished, and picked it up. She rushed back into the cover of the trees and found a tree far enough away from the property she could safely hide behind. When she arrived, she sat herself in the cover of the tree and examined the arm band. It was a bit heavy for an armband, made of gold with some kind of unique seal that Ailyn had never seen before, even as a Whitelighter. The seal depicted a serpent with three heads surrounded by spikes. Half of its body was encased in ice and three spikes were pointing towards each of the three heads. She knitted her eyebrows together, studying the seal. Unable to come up with any conclusion or names for this unique looking seal, she pocketed the arm band, and stood up. She took one last look at the property and when she felt safe, orbed out into the heavens above. She needed answers and she was hoping the Elders had the answers she was seeking.

Orbing into the heavens, she always found a wave of peacefulness. As if the heavens were welcoming her back into the celestial paradise she had grown to love. She navigated the pearl building she knew the elders resided in. She stopped when she saw someone. Another Whitelighter walking towards her, with her hood covering her face. Ailyn kept it to herself, but if the robes were made of red velvet, they would look more demonic than angelic. That was one reason she hated when she was ordered to put on her robes for meditation.

"Hello, Ailyn. How have you been?" She spoke, gently, removing her white and gold colored hood.

"Hello, Sophia." She smiled; Sophia was Ailyn's teacher when she became a Whitelighter. Sophia trained Ailyn for a month, and even became a great mentor to her. Sophia, unlike other Whitelighters, let Ailyn follow her own rhythm. Ailyn soon excelled in her training and finally was allowed to care for her first charge, Xiao Qiao, whom she still visits frequently in her home country in China.

"I haven't seen you in so long." Sophia embraced Ailyn in a hug. Ailyn eagerly accepted it.

"Where have you been, Sophia?" She asked as she stepped back from the hug, holding Sophia's hands in hers.

"I've been assigned to watch over certain Whitelighters who are starting to stray off the path. Not every one of them is straying, but they need to remember why they were called to be Whitelighters. So I've been busy with this assignment and guiding my charges, including a teenager who just received her powers." Ailyn chuckled, remembering the times she had young charges that couldn't yet control their powers and Ailyn always had to clean up the messes.

"How about yourself, Ailyn?"

"I have been keeping a close eye on the siblings. The Elders recently dropped their cloak and they had their first demon attack a few days ago. It took a lot of convincing for Luz, but she has started to accept her destiny once more." Sophia nodded in understanding, for she knew of the young sisters past, including the trauma that was sure to haunt them.

"How well did they perform on the demon vanquish? I can imagine it must've not been easy."

"They performed well given the circumstances. Geiney was not at all used to seeing demons be vanquished, but he does show great potential." Sophia nodded.

"Do you still keep in touch with Xiao Qiao?" Ailyn smiled, and nodded, remembering that Sophia gave Xiao Qiao to Ailyn, her first charge.

"All the time. She still calls for me sometimes, but she only wants to walk the valleys and keep me for company to listen to her troubles. She has grandchildren now who are continuing their family legacy, defending against demons."

Sophia smiled, "That's the connection you make after caring for her for over sixty years. It's always a blessing to have that relationship with your charges, and a bigger blessing when they consider you part of the family."

"I agree." She let go of Sophia's hands and her hands brushed past the armband, making a slight jingling sound as her arms hit the metal. She almost jolted at the unexpected bump against the metal.

"Sophia, could you tell me anything about this armband? This symbol is something I haven't seen before. I have no idea what it means." She removed the armband from her pocket and handed it to Sophia. Sophia examined the armband and frowned when she studied the symbol etched into the gold of the armband.

"Yes, I have seen this before, but where did you get this?"

"At the Cuentas manor." Sophia gave Ailyn a funny look, but dropped her gaze back to the armband, slowly turning it around in her hands.

"Their full name for this demon gang is The Demon Fists of Distant Hells."

Ailyn let out a laugh, "The demons fists of what? What kind of a cheap name is that?" Sophia, however, did not crack a smile; instead she stared blankly at a spot behind Ailyn.

"The Distant Hells are a group of low level demons that want nothing to do with the law and order of the Underworld. As you know, Hell has their chain of command, similar to us here in the heavens. This demon group wants none of that; they want complete chaos and anarchy for the underworld. About five hundred years ago, one of the kings of Hell banished them into Purgatory for starting a coup d'etat in hell. However, because they were banished, many low level demons saw them as saviors, or as great role models. Many more joined their cause. Their leader made their arm bands in purgatory, based on the legends of Cocytus, where the fallen angel Lucifer resides, forever trapped in ice. They want to take over Hell and their current leader, Belphegor, has said time and time again, 'we will take over Hell one demon at a time'.

"According to sources, in order to get in you have to perform a rite of passage, what they call, 'Sinners of three'. Their first task is to kill an innocent. Their second task is to kill a witch and take their powers. Their third task is to kill a stronger demon, and if they survive all three, they are worthy to wear this armband." She flashed the armband at Ailyn, "My question for you is why you were at the Cuentas manor? You know the Elders have recently forbid any Whitelighter from entering the property after the manor fell to the hands of Evil."

"I wanted to see it myself. I didn't want to believe the manor would be taken over by evil. I wanted to believe that the manor survived, that the owners were still tending to their manor." Her gaze dropped and her voice failed to hide the sadness she was feeling.

"I know, Ailyn. We didn't want to believe it either, but the manor has definitely fallen. Of course, not without a fight."

"What happened?"

"You see, an eclipse surrounded the area, and without the protection of the Elders, the eclipse temporarily dropped its shield allowing demons to storm in. Belphegor had planned this for years because an army of demons were waiting in the forest to attack. When the eclipse started everyone's power began to wane until the moon completely covered the sun. They were left without magic. Demons came in with their own weapons and stormed the manor and the property. Thinking fast, the owners and many of the teachers fought against the army while some helped the students escape. When they escaped, and the eclipse was over, as a last defense, the owners cast one last spell, one that shook the very earth, a power that the Elders felt and feared of. Do you remember what was beneath the foundation of the manor?"

Ailyn thought back to the history of the manor and nodded, "The crystal that was used to banish the source of all evil. It might have been broken but it still held great power. A secret only to the teachers and staff of the employment of the Cuentas manor." Ailyn recited.

Sophia nodded, "They used a very powerful spell to clear the property of all intruders. And with it they completely destroyed the diamond."

Ailyn sighed sadly. "But that means that they died."

"Not necessarily." Ailyn snapped her head up at hearing Sophia's words, giving her hope.

"What do you mean?"

"We can't find their bodies. We believe they cloaked themselves to hide from everyone. A smart way to make it look like they died too. However, we cannot be sure. For all we know, they could be captured in the underworld or dead. It is only a possibility."

The words did not comfort Ailyn at all. "Don't worry Ailyn; let the Elders worry about the Distant Hells. The siblings, as you and I both know, aren't ready to talk about their history. She gave Ailyn the armband back and stepped back.

"I'm being summoned now. We will meet again, Ailyn. For now, I wish you luck and peace." Ailyn sighed, looking directly into Wong's eyes, his expression serious, taking in every word she said.

"That is where my mind was. Replaying the events of today over and over." Ailyn finished and Wong nodded.

"You worry for Mr. and Mrs. Cuentas."

"Don't you? I worry that now they won't be able to make amends with their children. Luz and Sara have many questions for them, and I do too. They were kind and generous to you and me, but why were they so cruel to their children? Why did they make them go through grueling training and scar their children? Why did they train their children the same way they would train an adult in army training?" Wong was silent for a moment, allowing Ailyn a moment to calm down.

"Would you like to know if they're alive?"

"You can find out?"

"Chinese sorcery also has ways to find someone. We call it Zhanbu, you call it Scrying." From within his desk, he took out four potion vials; one with a red powder, one with a clear liquid, while the third looked like a crystal blue colored maple syrup. The fourth vile had chopped up pieces of what looked like ginger root but Ailyn had a feeling it wasn't ginger. Wong grabbed a pot and filled it halfway with water and brought it back to his desk. He emptied the contents of the red powder into the pot and added the maple syrup and the chopped up pieces into the mix. Using a wooden spoon, Wong mixed the contents well, turning the solution into gray murky water.

"I'm going to need something that belonged to either one of them." Ailyn thought for a moment before taking out a small photograph of them. It was a photograph of them with their two daughters and newborn son, Geiney. She always kept it as a treasure, as it was the last photograph of them all before the girls ran away, with Geiney and their Book of Shadows in their hands. She gave him the photograph and he looked at it.

"I'm going to need to burn it." She hesitated; she didn't want to burn the photograph, but if it meant finding them then she would take it.

"It will have served its purpose." She said.

Wong nodded, adding the clear liquid into the solution. He used the wooden spoon to mix the contents together; then he grabbed the photograph and with his free hands snapped his fingers, causing the middle finger's tip to ignite on fire. He set the flame on the corner of the photograph until it caught fire, and then he dropped it into the solution, causing the now brown colored solution to move and swallow the burning photograph.

"Your answer lies in the images you will now see. Remember, that while you may not understand the images you see, your answer will lie in the solution of its riddle."

Ailyn brought her face closer to the solution, its contents turning black, the solution bubbling. The bubbles quickly pushed away from the center and Ailyn was able to clearly see the images Wong had mentioned.

Ailyn frowned as she took in the first image. She recognized the first image, the street sign of Seventh and Atlantis, two blocks away from where they currently resided in. The second image she saw was a children's drawing in crayon of a house. The third image was the faces of Joshua and Mia. Ailyn gasped; they had to be alive. The fourth image was slightly blurry, but Ailyn was able to make out a perfectly cut polished diamond, broken in four pieces. One piece was bigger than the others but the other three pieces were about the same size. The next image was blurry but she was able to make out the outline of three people. However, after a moment, the image cleared up, showing three demonic figures. The next image was even more blurry, but she could make out the Cuentas manor. The final image was so blurry Ailyn didn't know what was going on but saw two figures trying to chase down small orbs of light that jumped all around them.

The images fizzled out and Ailyn covered her nose, coughing after smelling the horrid stench of the solution.

"Ah, I apologize. I forgot to tell you about the after smell," Flicking his hands, the solution disappeared, "But you have your answer. They seem to be alive and well. If they weren't you would not have seen anything. But the images you saw will be a riddle you must solve on your own. I cannot help you from here."

"Thank you, Wong. For showing me," She spoke in plain English, her gratitude noticeable in her voice. She smiled honestly at Wong.

"It was my pleasure to help you in your time of need. It's a bigger pleasure when I can speak to you in Mandarin. I miss speaking my language, a gift from my country."

"Then now that I have a riddle, I guess I have to solve it in order to find them," She embraced Wong in a hug, "You saved yourself from having me yell at you."

"Well good, because I already have one woman yelling at me at home. I don't need another one here." She laughed at his joke and nodded, showing herself out and rejoining the siblings at their table.

"Hey, we were starting to get worried. Where were you?" Geiney said, as Ailyn sat down at the table.

"Oh, I just needed to talk to Wong about an issue I've been having. It's resolved now." Geiney nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"So what did Old Man Wong say?" Sara pressed. Ailyn, clearly not prepared, took a sip of her iced tea, thinking of an excuse to tell them. When nothing came to mind immediately, she opted to tell them everything that did not concern her issues.

"Oh, he just told me that he loves when we speak in Chinese. He misses his country and the one way to remember is if he speaks in his home language. I also found out his wife wears the pants in the family." Luz laughed.

"Did you see when multiple rabbits popped out of his hat? I wonder how he manages to hide his sorcery in plain sight." Ailyn smiled. The only reason the rabbits came out of the hat was because he had added too much of one alchemic ingredient and out popped several unwanted rabbits. Sometimes Wong could be a klutz, and at other times, he was what everyone needed to be pointed in the right direction again.

Luz placed whatever leftover food she had into a Styrofoam container, "Ailyn, would you like to spend the night? We're going to play a few games and it would be nice to have you with us for a change." Ailyn thought it over and nodded. If any of her charges needed her, all they had to do was call for her.

"Sure, I'll stay the night. I need to keep the tyke out of trouble, anyways."

"I don't get into trouble!" He defended himself, pointing his fork with a noodle dangling from one of its teeth at Ailyn.

"Yes, you do. All the time." Sara said matter-of-factly, and he replied with a huff and continued to eat his food bitterly, much to the amusement of everyone else. The night was spent playing board games and other activities and to the siblings, it was an enjoyable time. For what felt like a long time since their first vanquishing, they had fun together, and it was then that Geiney realized Ailyn was a competitive brat when it came to games.

He had been courageous, he had accepted his wonderful fate, and then, as soon as he saw the house, butterflies stormed his stomach. All of a sudden, he felt more nervous, more afraid. He stared at the stereotypical house made for a teenage girl, pink with white trims. The grass was clean cut, well nurtured and tidy. There was a tree near the sidewalk of the property that bore a lot of shade, and another near the house that bore apples. Luz stepped from behind the vehicle and stood next to Geiney. She gave a slight whistle as she took in the house's neat appearance.

"They have a very beautiful home!" She sighed, "I wish my house were as neat and tidy as theirs. Maybe someone," she stressed, "could help out more?" She glanced at Geiney who seemed to not have heard a peep come from her. "Aw! I think someone really likes the girl who lives in this house. Do you like this girl?" Geiney whirled his head around to glare at her. "So you have fallen in love!" She playfully swooned and Geiney only blushed and swatted her arm.

"This is why I didn't wanna bring you in the first place!" He groaned.

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you… much."

"Oh, that's so comforting…" Geiney sarcastically muttered, walking alongside Luz to the front door of the house. She searched for a door bell and found one on the door frame, a white button in the center of golden swirls that hid underneath the button itself. She pressed it and they both heard a muffled bell chime. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a gentleman dressed in casual clothing, with a newspaper tucked underneath his arm and a pen in one of his hands.

"Ah, welcome! Geiney, isn't it, my boy?"

"Uh, yes, sir." He said, feeling slightly warm on the spot.

"And who is this lovely lady?" He offered his free hand to Luz who stepped forward and shook it.

"I'm his older sister, Luz. The middle sister of us siblings."

"Ah, Luz! A name that means light. And it very much suits you, my dear." He smiled genuinely and she gave off a small laugh, "My name is Chester Turner. It is a pleasure to meet you, Luz," He turned to Geiney and offered him his hand, "And a pleasure to meet you too, Geiney." He shook his hand and the young boy nodded.

"Same here, Mister Taylor." The man chuckled warmly.

"Please, call me Chester. Mister Taylor was my father. Please, do come in and make yourselves at home." He stepped aside and allowed his guests to enter. They were led by Chester into the parlor of their home where the siblings sat down on a light gray colored loveseat. Chester opted for the sofa chair.

"Can I offer you both something to drink while I bring down Alex? Some water, or maybe a soda, or some Chablis or Blush for the lady?" Luz smiled, choosing ice water. Geiney asked for the same.

"I really like this man. He is a complete gentleman. Take notes, boy!" She said.

"Well, now I know where Alex gets her manners from. He talks a lot like Alex does." He said, somewhat shyly. Luz continued to tease him over his infatuation over Alex.

"Where did you say they're from again?"

"England." Luz raised an eyebrow at his answer.

"He doesn't sound British. Maybe it's only her." He shrugged, agreeing with her logic. After a few moments, the kitchen's wooden swing door opened and out came Chester and Alex. Alex sported a pink tank top with a white undershirt and ripped jeans. Geiney noticed she wore light blue and white striped shoes that complimented her outfit. A glimmer caught his eye and as she drew closer. His eyes focused on the necklace around her neck. Although he couldn't quite place it, he had a feeling he had seen that pendant before. In the center of the pendant was a five pointed star with the head pointing downwards, and in the very heart of the star was a small green jewel that glistened in the light of the sun. The star was surrounded with circular patterns that led to the outer rim of the pendant. The necklace hung on a thin gold chain, but whether the chain was made out of real gold, he did not know.

"Hi, Geiney!" She turned to Luz, "So you must be his sister, right ma'am?" Luz smiled and introduced herself, shaking Alex's hand.

"So, we finally meet, Alex. Geiney here has told me a lot about you." Alex glanced at him who only shied away from her look. Geiney did manage to send a glare at his older sister when they're eyes met. She ignored the daggers his eyes were throwing at her, instead replying with a mischievous smile that only Geiney caught on.

Alex giggled, turning the oldest siblings' attention back to her, "Nothing good, I'm sure." She joked and Luz laughed alongside her, as if they had been best friends for life. Geiney found it to be a bit unnerving, especially after he caught her mischievous smile, something he learned over the years was a very bad sign for him.

"Well, kids. Don't have too much fun. This is where I drop you off."

"Ah, but do you have to leave so soon?" Chester asked, "We haven't had the pleasure of talking yet."

Luz thought it over for a moment, "Well, I guess I can stay for a bit. Besides, I should probably keep an eye on the troublemaker there." She pointed at her brother, who protested, much to the delight of Alex still standing in the room.

While the kids had gone to Alex's bedroom to finish their assignment, Luz stayed with Chester in the parlor, having a casual conversation. With drink in hand, she began to explain, without mentioning their magical gifts or experiences, how she wanted to help out people, and studied to become a nurse. She explained her role in the Doctor's office, including some things she does on a daily basis. She even explained what Doctor Danson does on a regular basis including his personality, although Chester doubted that the doctor was that much of an angry, opinionated person. She took it as her mission to prove him wrong.


	6. Shapeshifting Lies

Sara gave off a sigh of relief, after almost two hours of watching three grown men fight and insult each other like drunken men, did they decide in what direction they wanted to piece together the video for their client. Now all she needed to do was head over to Productions and grab a copy of the new plans they were going to send down there in fifteen minutes. Having some time to kill, she thought she would visit her group of girl friends on the same floor. Turning a final corner, she arrived at the lobby for the Presidency on the seventh floor.

"Hey, girls!" She greeted to the three women sitting in adjacent desks to each other, on one side of the lobby. The three women were stationed for Customer Relations, often speaking with the clients and setting up appointments to meet with the president of Abstraks. The three women were well known in the company to grab potential clients and make them feel welcomed and important. Sara had heard rumors it was because of them the company has grown to the size as it is. Together, the three women have continued to excel and help the company grow

"Sara! Fancy meeting you here." One of the girls said, Daisy, her British accent strong as ever. She wore a red and white floral pattern shirt and Jeans.

"Girl, you need to visit us more often." Said the second girl, Laura, with olive colored flesh, wearing a yellow and white floral pattern shirt and Jeans. She twirled a pen expertly in her fingers and swayed gently in her rolling chair.

"Hey, Sara. How nice of you to visit!" The third girl spoke, Brooke, wearing a pink and white floral shirt, identical to the ones the others wore. She stacked some papers together, neatly, but never taking her eyes of Sara.

"I see you all wore your uniforms today." Sara complimented, referring to their personally assigned clothing. The three women were almost like siblings, completely inseparable, especially when it came to the topics of gossip, something the three women thrived to do, more than their own jobs. This meant that they went shopping together and most likely kept each other company outside of work.

Brooke gasped, "Sara, did you hear about what happened with Roseanne?"

"No, what happened with Roseanne? Tell us." Since she began working for Abstraks, the other girls, made her just as much of a gossiper as them. At first, Sara didn't care for the gossip, preferring to keep to herself and mind her own business. When the busy season came, and they were shooting more projects than they could handle, the overworked Sara began practically living in her office. With little to no option of a social life outside of work, she began listening to the gossip, often indulging herself in conversations and before long she, too, became a gossiper around the office. The girls huddled together, as if they were young, mischievous school girls cooking up a plan against a naughty student.

"Well, do you all remember when Roseanne told us she snagged herself that hunk of man who worked at the mechanic's shop a couple blocks from here?" A chorus of individual nods and murmurs of agreement washed over the group. "Well, it turns out that she's been going over to his little 'shop' and playing around with his 'tools' if you know what I mean." A collection of gasps were heard from the group, with a couple of girls covering their mouths in complete shock.

"No way! I knew she was interested in him, but she told me she just wanted to be friends with him." Sara put in her thoughts, making some girls nod in agreement, as they probably heard the same information Sara received.

Brook, the current gossiper flashed a knowing smile, "Yeah, friends with benefits." Another chorus of gasps resonated from the girls. Sara, like many other times, lost herself in the gossip. Her mind focused on what the group around her was saying. She spoke again, agreeing with the girls that Roseanne should know better than that.

"Wait, how do you know so much about her private life? She hasn't spoken to us about it. She usually can't keep her mouth shut with that sort of topic. She's a complete sucker for it, too." Daisy questioned, sharing what information she knew of her friend, as well.

"Well, it turns out my husband's brother's first cousin's sister is a medic at the nearby hospital who happens to know both the mechanic and Roseanne personally. They were checked in the hospital at the same day, but different hour. It turns out that our little mechanic had a 'rusty tool' and she got infected. "The group stepped back and gave audible, loud cries of disbelief.

"You don't mean…" Laura trailed off, already fearing the worst.

"Yep. Our little mechanic friend had a disease and now Roseanne has it too." She paused, letting the information sink in with everyone, they began chatting amongst themselves and hoped that their friend wasn't in any danger; but with no further information, they all assumed the worst of their friend's situation. Already the conversation began getting louder with everyone sharing their disbelief or shunning their friend who should have known better.

"So, Roseanne called in sick today?" Sara questioned and Brook nodded in confirmation. Their chatting began to get a bit too loud, and a certain someone picked it up on her annoying radar. She gave a look of complete disgust before gently putting down her nail filer, and blowing on her nails. After examining those, double checking that they were perfect, smiling at her near reflection on the blood red color of her fingernails before walking over to the group of gossipers in a sassy fashion.

She smirked as she drew the attention of some of the men around the presidency. She took the long way to reach the group of gossipers, and purposefully swayed her hips at the right time to make the hearts of the men leap with desire. She absolutely loved the effects a simple hip sway could do to men.

"Well, well, well! What's going on over here?" She cried, as if purposefully trying to gain attention, with her voice louder than it should be.

"Eva Scott. What a pleasant surprise," Sarcasm all but oozed from Brook's voice. Out of all the group, Eva attacked Brook the most because of her self-conscious image. Even though many would agree she was a beautiful woman, one negative comment sent her in a depressed state. Even though her friends, tried to comfort her, she was really harsh on her self-image, something she never really grew out of since her life in high school. Because of this, Eva saw Brook as the easy target. No matter how minute the insult, Brook became enraged.

Eva, being born and raised in an elegant, rich lifestyle became what many would consider snobby, pompous and selfish. She was entirely beautiful with the body of a model and her voice so clear and crisp. In the eyes of everyone who knew her personality, she was seen only as an ugly woman. Her own head grew ten times bigger when her best friend, the vice president's wife, accountant, and treasurer of the company, Ruby, hired her to be her secretary. Eva worked in the main lobby, running as Ruby's secretary and messenger to the presidency floor.

"Aren't you all supposed to be working? I mean, that's what you're all getting paid to do. Yet, all I see is all of you standing around, neglecting the clientele, and chit-chatting with your friends."

"Eva, we were just saying hi. Nothing else." Sara explained.

"Oh! So just because you say 'hi' makes it an excuse to talk to each other for an hour? I honestly don't see why they even bother keeping you four employed. Now get to work," She clapped her hands loudly, gaining the attention of some of the other people in the room, her desired effect, "All of you! Come on, shoo!"

"Look here, you little company slave," Eva gasped at the insult, Daisy stepped forward pointing a menacing index finger at Eva, as if it were some kind of knife, "We will get to work when _you_ go back to your little desk and start answering those calls, like _you_ are getting paid to do. Do not tell us what to do; you're not our boss!"

"I am too your boss!" She poked the air around Daisy, forcing her to take a step back out of surprise at the sudden action. "I am the secretary of the Treasurer, and you all are employees to Abstraks, making me more important than your entire little group put together." Turning her attention to something more important, she examined her nails. "Now, all of you witches get back to work! Filthy hags!" No matter how many times their gossiping group was called witches, Sara always paled momentarily, always thinking her cover was blown. She knew that none of them knew she was a real witch, but that didn't stop the fear from eating at her every time she was called one. Even though their group went along with the insult, to hear it directed at her was always unsettling.

"At least our magic conquers your stupidity!" Eva gasped louder, feeling the sting of the insult. Sara smiled. While her gasps sounded like nails on a chalkboard, they always brought satisfaction to her mind.

"What's going on here?" Abby, had showed up, the secretary of the vice president. Abby wasn't a member of their gossiping group, but she loved conversing with the women, something Eva didn't particularly like, and often was scolded by Eva for talking with the 'ugly hags'. Eva often threatened that if Abby kept speaking with the hags, she would catch their hag disease.

"Abby! Good, you're here. Tell this mentally ill slave—" Eva shrieked, stepping forward.

"Me! Mentally ill? Don't you dare ridicule me like that. You hags are mentally sick in the head!"

"Ha! You just repeated yourself! You are stupid." Sudden arguments began as the lobby began echoing their noise, with some employees sticking their heads out of their offices to watch the commotion.

Jack, the president, followed behind a very gloomy Troy, head of the cinematography branch. The feminine homosexual sniffled as he shuffled his feet through the corridors. Jack had won the final argument and he felt victorious. Troy had almost told Patrick, the vice president, and Sara about his little unwanted escapade with Jack when he was dressed as a woman. His face turned ash white and he managed to shut him up and break their little meeting with a final order, after which he practically beat Troy to death. He began hearing mutters that increased in volume as he neared the lobby of the seventh floor, or the presidency, as he called it. When he turned a final corner he saw what looked like a fight about to break out.

"Don't come any closer, hag!" Eva shrieked, trying to shield her face from the future attacks Brook was going to throw at her.

Brook stepped forward, fists up, while the other girls were trying in vain to hold her back, almost looking like a cartoon with all the women trying to pull Brook back and not gaining any distance between her and Eva.

"Put your dukes up, woman; let's handle this like real men!" The girls cried out anything that could convince Brook to stop. Her fists began rotating like an old fashioned boxer, while her feet began shifting from one side to the other.

Troy ignored the women as he stepped around them, sadly shuffling his way to the elevator. This didn't go unnoticed by Sara, but her hands were full what with trying to pull Brook back from making a mistake.

"Attention!" Jack shouted over their commotion. Everyone stopped and all but Eva flew into formation, a straight line with their chests out and hands behind their back, mimicking that of an army battalion.

"What is the meaning of all this commotion?" He asked, and pointed towards Brook.

"This mirror obsessed floozy," Eva raised an eyebrow in confusion, not knowing the meaning of the word floozy, "tried to pick a fight with us!" The other girls nodded, breaking formation to glare at Eva who only shook it off.

Jack turned to Eva, "Eva, is this true?"

Overacting, she gasped, as if she hadn't been breathing for a minute, making Jack's skin crawl in the process. "Me? Oh, Jack why would you even think that? I was just here minding my own business when these ugly hags," Brook stuck out her tongue at Eva, followed by a mimed taunt, "decided to verbally attack me."

The other girls, hearing the lie, immediately began shouting accusations at Eva, who only took out a handkerchief and began wiping her eyes.

"Silence!" Jack cried. Everyone stopped talking at once, and for a moment nothing else happened.

"Brook, Eva. In my office. Now." He turned on his heel and headed for the presidents' office, on the other side of the room.

"Uh oh…" Whispered Sara. They were in the office for not more than a minute before Eva walked out of the office wearing the most victorious look on her face.

"Your loss, hags!" She gave off an evil laugh, causing everyone to shiver. Sara was almost convinced that she was a demon with a laugh like that. Brook was left alone in the office for ten minutes, longer than what anyone felt comfortable, but eventually she emerged, a smirk playing on her lips. Brook arrived at the group and chuckled at the events she just experienced.

"He can't believe Roseanne fell sick after sleeping with the mechanic!" The others sighed in relief. Jack, being the president of his business, and always working to bring his company higher, never really had much of a social life besides dining and drinking with his clients. He loved the gossip that went around in his business, and would often make time to listen to the conversations and events from certain people. Of course, only a select few knew of his gossip habits and only the gossiping group and the vice president were privileged with that information.

"Okay, girls, I have to head down to Productions, but we can continue this after lunch. I have questions." Sara said, excusing herself and heading for the elevators. After pressing the button she back pedaled to Eva's desk only a few steps away and silently bit her thumb at her. The ding marking the elevator doors open rang and she stepped inside, pressing the button for the third floor, where Productions was.

"Why was she biting her thumb?" Eva muttered, pondering what could cause her to bite her thumb, "Does she have a nervous habit?" She shrugged and went back to ignoring the ringing phone for the umpteenth time that day.

Chester had disappeared within the house for a long time and Luz, being curious, stood up to look at the nearby photos that hung on the wall or were scattered across the room. Whoever they were, Luz noticed that they loved taking pictures. She saw one of an old couple standing next to a couple of newlyweds, while another had a photograph of a young child. She continued to look through them, going clockwise from where she started, until she saw a photograph that made her freeze in place, and her heart sink. With a shaky hand, she picked up the frame, and in it was Alex, wearing a blue bonnet with a forest backdrop. There were golden letters etched into the wood of the frame, "Our Granddaughter—1976". Alex had not aged in twenty years. No, the girl that was upstairs with Geiney was not Alex. She spun around abruptly wanting to run straight up the stairs only to stare at Chester blocking the stairway, a crooked smile and hiding one hand behind his back.

"Chester, where's Geiney?" A thump was heard upstairs, making her face pale at the grave situation she was in.

"Oh, don't worry, he's with Alex remember? But he should be powerless right about now." He revealed his other hand, brandishing the Athame, playing it around in his hand.

"Get out of my way!" She ordered. She looked up when she continued to hear thumps and scrapes; it seemed Geiney was currently in a struggle upstairs, and she needed to get through to Chester, or whatever this person actually was to get to him. The man stepped forward, twirled the Athame once and started for Luz. Reacting fast, she turned to her side, finding a small corner table, an appropriate object to use as a weapon. Using her Telekinesis, she waved her hand and flung the table towards Chester. It hit him at high speed in his chest and he was lifted off his feet and landed hard on his back. She looked around quickly but could not find another object to throw at her attacker.

He got up and summoned a fireball in his hand and threw it at her. Using her powers she deflected the attack and the fireball returned to Chester, stunning him momentarily. Taking advantage of the moment, she waved two fingers and disarmed him. She waved her hand, in the opposite direction, and he flew across the room to a bookshelf, colliding into it with a sickening thud. She grabbed the Athame, and as he started getting up, she ran at full speed and stabbed the demon in the back with the Athame, letting it stick out of its body. He let out a scream before being engulfed in flames and disappearing for good.

She picked up the Athame and turned her attention to the struggle happening upstairs. She tightened her grip on the Athame and charged full speed up the stairs…

Geiney back pedaled away from his current threat, Alex. All he was expecting after he puckered his lips, and closed his eyes was the warm, soft feel of her lips against his. He did not, however, expect a cold, painful sting to his chest. He inspected the wound and noticed it was deep and bleeding rapidly. He felt the warm blood pool around the open wound.

"Oh, what's the matter? Did you hurt yourself? Oh, you poor, poor child." She taunted, drawing closer to the cowering boy in front of her.

"Child?" He muttered to himself, as if he were insulted by the word. "Alex? Stop this! It's not funny." She only ignored him, only stepping closer. When his back hit the wall, he slowly stood up, using the wall as a support, never taking his eyes off his attacker.

"Oh, I just love it when witches become cornered and scared. It's always fun to watch them squirm."

"What-what are you saying? Who are you, Alex?" She shrugged in reply.

"Why don't you figure it out?" She lunged but he raised his hands, shielding himself with his powers. She struck the wall of wind, forcing her back upon impact. He charged and knocked her into the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his side, as he tried to get out of her grasp. She had struck him with the knife again. He doubled over, pain overwhelming his senses.

"Geiney!" Cried Luz at the door. Alex, who was a short distance away, lunged for Geiney, but he managed to grab her wrist, the tip of the Athame very close to his neck

"No!" All of a sudden, Alex was flung to the other side of the room, crashing into the dresser and splitting it in multiple pieces.

Geiney and his sister rejoined and upon taking his hand, Luz ran down the stairs, and out the front door. From the porch, Luz unlocked the vehicle and they both jumped in.

"We have to get back to the house and have Ailyn heal you." She ignited the car to life, shifted gears, and the car skidded into a run, knocking over a recycling bin along the way. Alex watched from the doorstep, holding an injured arm, bitter and enraged, letting out a haunting scream not possible for her lungs. She clenched her fist, holding the Athame, the tip of the blade covered in Geiney's blood. She licked the tip and smiled bitterly, the familiar taste of human blood sent a slight shiver down her spine.

She knew all too well where they were going, and she was going to follow and finish the job herself. She invested too much time with this job to fail now, and she was going to get those powers even if it meant dying for them.

Now that Ailyn had arrived at the house, she turned the corner into the living room and saw Geiney, shirtless with two pieces of cloth, blood already seeping, covering his wounds. He groaned when Luz pressed harder against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Tyke, what the hell happened?" She took over Luz' position and gently removed the cloths. The blood had dried enough to make the microscopic fibers of the cloth stick to the wound, making the victim moan in discomfort. She noticed that while both wounds were deep, they weren't fatal, a lucky break for Geiney. Her hands hovered over the wounds, glowing warmly for a few moments. When the glowing stopped, she removed her hand. Only the dry blood around the area was evidence that showed he had been injured.

"Do you remember me telling you about that girl I was supposed to study with?" Ailyn gave a nod, "Well, the bitch turned to a demon." Luz didn't even call him out on the bad language, not blaming him for his choice of words on the matter.

"She did this to you?" Geiney went to speak but Luz stepped forward.

"This did. She tried to stab him." Ailyn took the Athame, studying it for a moment. She noticed the jewel sitting at the bottom of the hilt, and upon further inspection, she came to her final conclusion.

"I see these things every now and then, and they are very hard to come by. This is a power absorbing Athame, quite difficult to make in the heavens, and very expensive to make in the underworld. The jewel is able to absorb powers from any being, be it a Witch, Demon, or even a Whitelighter. However, the only way to absorb powers is if you insert this into the being, and keep your hand on the jewel.

"So does that mean I don't have my powers anymore?" Ailyn squinted at the Athame, or rather the jewel, for a moment before shaking her head no.

"No, if you didn't have your powers any more, I would see this jewel glow, and I don't see any light coming from it. You still have your powers." Geiney sighed in relief.

"Okay, do we know what demon we're after?" Ailyn asked, beginning to play around with the blade.

"I don't know. I couldn't tell if it was a regular demon or a different type of demon," Her memory flashed to the photograph she saw in the living room, "Actually, I saw a photo at their house from 1976 that had Alex in it, as she looks now, or rather what she looked like twenty five years ago."

"Ew! I tried to kiss a forty something year old woman!" Geiney gagged, Ailyn rolled her eyes.

"That is so not the point here, Tyke." Ailyn scoffed, turning her attention back to the oldest sibling.

"The only beings I know that would be able to pull this off are powerful demons, Dark Lighters, Shape Shifters, and evil, powerful Witches."

"Basically, we're talking about every other demon in the Book of Shadows." Ailyn twisted the blade around in her hands, thinking about what she was just told. Geiney watched as he caught a glimmer of light from the jewel in the center of the pentagram. His eyes focused on the symbol, and then he remembered.

"That symbol!" Geiney exclaimed, Ailyn and Luz turned to the youngest.

"What symbol?" Ailyn stopped twisting when he pointed at the Athame.

"Alex—or that thing had a necklace just like it. I thought I remembered seeing it somewhere else though."

"Let's find out then. Something about this symbol should be in the Book of Shadows somewhere," They started for the attic, "Did you get ahold of Sara?" Luz asked their Whitelighter.

"Yeah, as soon as I heard your call, I called her at once. She should be here soon." They heard a door shut, and a cry of "I'm here".

"Attic!" Ailyn replied. Once everyone was in the attic, Geiney thumbed through the book as the three women stayed some distance away to explain to Sara what happened during the attack.

"So that's about everything we know thus far. We still don't know what demon we're vanquishing, but Geiney is looking up this symbol in the Book of Shadows," She handed Sara the blade, flashing the symbol to her, "to see who or what we're up against." After a moment of silence, Geiney's cry received everyone's attention.

"Found it! The three women walked up behind the pedestal where the Book respectfully lay.

"The pentagram actually has a name. The Vista Stella Malum. A group of evil beings united for one cause: the destruction of life. Translated to English, 'The sight of the evil star', was first founded in the early tenth century, to foresee the destruction of life. The symbol itself is the future dream of this malice group to watch as life falls from existence. This group consists of Low Level Demons, Humans, High Level Demons, and Shape Shifters. The symbol is well known and respected throughout the underworld." Geiney paused for a moment, "That doesn't narrow down the list at all."

"Well, we move on to plan B." Luz said.

"What's plan B?" Sara asked.

"You have to get the answer using your powers." Luz turned to her older sister.

"How? Oh, right you have the power of auto suggestion." Geiney mentally slapped himself for forgetting.

"That's right. As long as I'm close to them, I can use my powers to make them talk. I'm more effective than truth serum. And a hell of a lot cheaper too."

"That just sounds wrong, Sara." Ailyn said. Sara rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Not what I meant."

"We have half the plan cooked up; all we need to do is lure the beast down here." Luz started for the stairs and everyone followed. "I have an idea, quite similar when you leave sugar out and it attracts flies. Except—"They all stopped short, the loud crashes of glass breaking made everyone stiffen up in their spots. No one dared to move. Then a door was kicked open and a few other crashes were heard. Ailyn imagined that someone kicked the door off its hinges in a literal manner.

"Or, you could wait until she gets up the stairs." Ailyn murmured.

"Everyone to the attic now! I'll distract her for a moment. Leave the door open, and Sara, stay a short distance from the door! Once she enters, use your powers." Everyone nodded in affirmation, they knew their jobs and they ran up the stairs.

Luz reached behind her and patted herself. With wide eyes, she realized she had left her gun in her bedroom. She mentally face palmed, remembering she removed her gun to change earlier that day. She looked to her bedroom, it wasn't too far away, and then looked back down the staircase. She saw no nearby shadows. With heart leaping to her throat, she ran as stealthily as she could to her bedroom. She opened the first drawer and found her gun inside. Her fingers traced over the letters of the name of the gun, 'Colt. 45'. This thing had six rounds with a full moon clip; fitting that they also called it a star.

She opened the cylinder of the revolver by moving it to the side. The ammunition had a faint glow to it, almost like it was made to glow in the dark. She sighed to herself in relief, reminded of why she had this. The ammunition was coated in the blessing potion that they used against certain demons. She knew that the modern weapons of man had little to no effect on the demons they would encounter, so they blessed any and all ammunition with a potion that hurts and weakens demons for a much easier vanquish. She closed the cylinder with a spin, and just as she was about to leave, she heard Alex's voice downstairs.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Taunted Alex, and after some silence, Luz advanced towards the staircase, taking cover by going into Sara's bedroom. From her position at the door frame she was able to see part of the stairs leading down. She was going to advance once more but a sudden hollow thud stopped her in her tracks. The demon was slowly advancing up the stairs. With each thud, Luz hurried to come up with a final plan at her current position.

Taking careful aim, her eyes hovered over the rear sight of the gun, aiming at the approaching shadow on the stairway. Each thud made her heart race even more. If she could injure the demon, it would weaken her enough to dull the demons' senses, allowing their own plan to have more a successful result. The shadow drew closer, her mind going back to her late boyfriend's training.

 _Just take slow, deep breaths. Your target will eventually appear, and when they do, you shoot. Don't hesitate. Just let your body relax, and remember to breathe as evenly as you can._

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, focusing her attention on her one goal at the moment. In her head she was already formulating a plan of attack as soon as her target came into sight. Once her brain processed it at what felt like light speed, she waited. A few seconds later, Alex turned the corner, and Luz fired twice, both bullets hitting their marks on her abdomen. Alex screeched, and Luz ran and kicked Alex down the stairs, hearing heavy thuds every time her body hit the stairs. Luz ran to the attic and shut the door behind her.

"Positions, everyone!" Luz ordered and everyone stood in either a defensive or offensive stance. Luz stayed directly in front of the door, in the middle of the room, with her gun at the ready, waiting for Alex to come running in through the door. Geiney and Ailyn stood to her left a short distance away, Geiney in a defensive position, and Ailyn with her spear that she had left the previous night. Sara stayed a few steps from the door to Luz' right, waiting for Alex to barge in. A moment of silence. Then the door was smashed open with a very powerful kick.

Everyone in the room flinched, and when the shattered door settled, Alex stepped in. Geiney's jaw dropped. Sara clenched her fists as Alex stepped in front of her, not even seeing she was being cornered.

"Hey! I just fixed that!" Geiney complained, referring to their previous demon that disintegrated the other attic door open. Before Alex could attack anyone, she failed to notice Sara behind her. She leaned in and whispered in her ear. Using her powers, there was a slight echo in her voice, and the demon visibly stiffened up, before relaxing, her own voice becoming almost emotionless.

"I am a shape shifter." Sara leaned in once more, her whispering became an echo and the demon stiffened once again, as if finding the whispering to be physically painful. Sara stepped back, while Alex fought to regain her mind. Alex continued to hear the command echoing inside of her, slowly dying down. Whatever the witch did, it had affected Alex and she did not like the feeling it brought to her. She felt powerless and weak. She couldn't even will her body to stop.

"Geiney, find Shape Shifters in the Book of Shadows!" Sara ordered. The three women readied their weapons and stepped closer to the demon. Geiney ran to the book and began flipping it to the section he wanted, Shape Shifters. Luz began shouting orders for an improvised battle plan, something the three women hadn't yet done.

"What did you do to me?" Alex ordered, turning to Sara. Alex growled, shedding her humanoid shell and becoming the true being of a shape shifter. With a final roar, she shook the attic, making the women step back momentarily, formulating an attack pattern in their minds against the demon in front of them.

"Whoa! That's new…" Geiney muttered as complete shock took over his being. The being started for Luz but a bullet to the Shape Shifter's stomach slowed it down.

"Geiney! Book. Now!" Forced, he turned his attention back to the book, turning page after page, looking for the right demon. The three women were forced to fight, but could not get near the demon. Every time they tried, the shape shifter would swing her arms wildly, not allowing anyone to touch her.

"Found her!" Geiney threw a wind ball at the shape shifter, hitting her square in the chest, stunning her. She fell to her knees, growling, and fighting against the pain. The three women regrouped by the book, and Luz, Sara, and Geiney held hands as they recited the spell.

"Kingdoms of earth, we summon you to vanquish the demon in our sights. Kingdoms of power vanquish the masks before us now. We call upon the earth and all its power to heed our call and save us from this shape shifting demon."

With one blood-curling growl, the demonic beast burst into flames, their screaming fading into an audible whoosh as the flames imploded, and then expelled a burst of hot air throughout the attic. When all was silent, the siblings let out a sigh of relief. The smell of sulfur lingered, making Geiney's nostrils sting. Luz and Sara, having been used to the smell, only breathed it in. To them, it meant that there was one less demon roaming the earth and they were victorious.

When everyone had calmed down, Geiney made the realization that he had someone to apologize to. Already not looking forward to the conversation, his mind waged war against himself. After what seemed like an eternity, he sighed in defeat, he had to apologize to Alice. He mentally prepared himself for what he needed to do while the women began congratulating one another on another successful demon vanquish.

"Ailyn, can you drop me off at Alice's house? I have something I need to do." Ailyn looked Geiney over.

"Are you sure? The last time we vanquished a demon, it had frightened you quite a bit." She replied and he nodded.

"We could sit around the table again, if you want to talk about it." Luz suggested.

"I'll be okay," he smiled, "I just have someone to apologize to." When the three women gave quizzical stares, and pressed for an answer, he took a deep breath, "Alice was supposed to be my partner, but my friends pushed me into asking Alex out, but that was just before I knew Alex was really a terrifying, old shape shifter demon who only wanted our powers. And to make matters worse, I broke my friendship with Alice because she said Alex was bad news and I should've listened to her because in the end Alex tried to kill me!" He said that all in one breath and when the three processed what he had just said, nodded in understanding. Luz nodded to Ailyn, giving her permission to take him. She knew he would be okay on his own. However, she too was worried about his mental safety, but this was a good start for him to not let the fear get to him.

"One quick orb, coming right up!" Ailyn took one of Geiney's hands and together they orbed out in a swirl of bright blue orbs.

"What do _you_ want?" She spat, the venom in her words obvious. Geiney felt the sting in her words but he knew he deserved it. He knew she would be hostile against him, but to actually hear her words like that made him momentarily forget the reason he arrived in the first place.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood, and I just stopped by to say… um—I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You were right about Alex. She was only being nice because she wanted to use me," _in more ways than one._ He thought to himself, "So, if you still don't have a partner, I was hoping we could work together on this project." His face felt hot, not used to apologizing, especially about breaking a friendship because of a girl. High school was so much harder to deal with than middle school. He understood that much now.

She considered his words for a moment, staring at a spot on the grass, something other than the boy in front of her. She knew his words were sincere, but she wanted him to know how she felt.

"You know, you really hurt me back there. Alex wasn't the girl you thought she was, right?" Geiney shook his head no, almost shivering at the thought of Alex trying to stab him with an Athame.

"When we were in the library she told me that no one was going to work with you except her. She rudely sent me away." She let him think that over a minute, "I warned you about her because I care about you Geiney. I didn't want us to fight, nor did I want you to break up our friendship over her. I wanted to let you know what type of person she was before it was too late." There was another pause.

"But, we all make mistakes, I guess." Geiney looked up at her. She knew she couldn't stay mad at him for long, especially with that pathetic look on his face. Alice amused herself with that thought.

"So, can we be friends again?" He asked, and she put her hands behind her back, thinking over his suggestion.

"Under one condition."

"Name it." He would agree with any condition as long as he had his friend back, something he was looking forward to having again.

"You get to do all the work on this chapter." She smiled, and he nodded, happy that he had his friend back, his true friend, in this situation.

"Done!" She stepped out of the door to allow him in. He began explaining how far he had gotten in the chapter and what it was about. He offered to re-read the chapter and she accepted, also delighted to have her friend back. She smiled, as she let her selfish thought back into her mind

 _Alice one, other girls zero. Beat that, Alex_.

Luz let out an annoyed scream as the other women tried to chase her down.

"I can't believe I can't do anything in this situation! I just wish I could complain to the school. Maybe verbally kick someone's ass! No, I _do_ want to kick someone's ass!" Luz vented walking in circles as the other two women finally reached the living room she was pacing in.

"Yeah, but what would you say to the school board? 'Hi, I'm very disappointed in your screening. Next time, you should try spiritually background checking your students so that they're not demons in disguise?' Nobody is going to believe us anyways." Mocked Ailyn.

"I know!" Luz grabbed a pillow covered her face and screamed. She hated being in a situation where she felt powerless, or when she couldn't do something. She hated the fact that she couldn't expose themselves to the school board, or in this case, to complain to them about the demon attack against Geiney.

"You know, that brings up a depressing topic. How many students fall victim to demonic attacks like that. Everyone always wonders how students can get attacked in plain sight and no one is around to see it." Sara said.

"Don't make it worse! I'm already mad at them!" Luz flung herself into the couch, trying to bury herself in the comfort of the cushions.

"He's getting better at defending himself though. You said he was struggling with Alex for a bit while you managed to take care of the other demon. That is impressive." Luz didn't move for a bit, considering her words, and taking her mind out of the neglectful school board.

Ailyn was right. Geiney managed to stay alive, although he did get hurt. Luz was proud to say he handled this attack better than the last one. He was slowly becoming a good witch. Now if only his grades could stay up.

She compared her life to Geiney's. While they weren't teaching him the way their parents were forced to teach the girls, it was just as effective. She was glad to have her younger brother able to defend himself against the supernatural world. Luz thought back to the fight Geiney had with the Shape Shifter in the bedroom, mulling it over.

"I am proud of him… He is learning." Luz trailed off, thinking about the demon vanquish, with a final smile she stood up. "But now, he is grounded and not allowed to have a girlfriend until he is twenty one."

"Oh, come on, sis. Let it go, already. How was he supposed to know that she was actually in fact a shape shifter?" Luz sighed, understanding what her sister was trying to say.

"Alright. I'm picking his girlfriend." Ailyn laughed, following her stubborn charge throughout the house, trying to convince her to leave Geiney alone and trying to get her to drop the subject. Ailyn knew they had just vanquished another demon successfully, and they were all proud of each other. The teamwork and effort to vanquish the demon made Ailyn smile. They were becoming the witches that the Elders knew they would be, and Ailyn hoped they would continue to stay united for future demon vanquishing. Ailyn looked up to the heavens, looking forward to bragging about her charges later to the heavens above. But for now, her current mission was to convince Luz to drop the entire subject and leave Geiney alone.


	7. The Parent Trap

Geiney sat at his desk in the dark classroom staring at the projection that was playing on the screen in front of the class. _Remind me… Why do I have to put up going to school?_

His chin rested on his palm with him ever so slowly leaning forward. The near brain-dead boy stared at the screen that was projecting a documentary about animals such as giraffes, elephants, hyenas and other native African animals. Why they were watching it he had no clue on, having already clocked out by then.

 _Weren't we supposed to learn about the cities of Africa?_ He questioned only to himself in his head. All he knew was that if someone didn't save him in time he would die of boredom. Even the narrator's voice was doing a good job at lulling him to sleep. The video played on about how the animals needed water to survive and how certain animals could find it easily.

 _He sounds like he doesn't even like his job_. Geiney thought as he listened to the narrator's monotonous, deep voice echo throughout the classroom. _It wouldn't kill him to add some tone to his voice and at least make it sound interesting_. _I'm going to fall asleep and there's nothing I can do about it._

He placed his head in his arms on his desk, breathing evenly, as sleep began to overtake him.

 _Must stay awake… must close my eyes for just a moment._ He reasoned with himself as his eyes began pulling themselves down. He tried to fight the feeling, but the narrator's voice and the uninteresting topic he was watching began to be too much for him. The heavy weight on his eyelids finally caused him to close his eyes. Thwack! Geiney's head snapped up and his hand went to the injured area. Something had hit him in the back of the head. He looked around; the culprit was Garrett, one of the class bullies. He snickered as he saw his desired effect. Garrett looked away, feigning innocence. Geiney rolled his eyes, choosing best to ignore the action than do anything about it. If he told the teacher about it, nothing would happen, so it was best to just ignore it. He glanced at the clock and realized class was almost over and with a new motivation he sat up. His spirits were lifted and he began packing up.

Thwack. Another paper ball had hit him on the head and rolled away from him. No one seemed to notice though, either choosing to ignore what happened or not knowing. Just one minute left.

Whack! Geiney felt the sting in that one. He examined what was thrown at him and realized it was a pink eraser block that was half eaten. He turned around to glare at the culprit, and found him trying to stifle his laughter. Geiney clenched his fist with the eraser in his palm, feeling the eraser resist his crushing. He was not going to use his powers in public even though he really wanted to. He was not going to use—Whack! The objects Garrett was throwing were getting bigger.

The bell rang. Geiney, reacting fast in the moment of commotion, raised his arm and threw the half chewed eraser at Garrett. The object went flying back to the bully who screamed, "My eye!"

His companion, a football star named Cain, well known for his ferocity, was encouraging his behavior. Cain was infamous among female students for his player attitude and never take no personality. A real douche bag in his friends' opinions.

Geiney snickered and bolted out of the classroom. Geiney escaped and reached his locker with no trouble at all.

"Geiney!" He turned around, and smiled at his friend who was approaching his locker.

"Hi, Alice!" He greeted.

"Did you finish the assignment for the 'Great Depression' project?" She asked, referring to their PowerPoint presentation on the subject.

"I did," he nodded, "We just need to go over it one more time and add anything that we missed. I may need to go over to your house. I added some really depressing photos for dramatic effect."

She rolled her eyes. "And that's supposed to get us an 'A' on this assignment?"

Geiney tried to reassure her with a joke. "How can you not get an 'A' when you add powerful photos like a man in tears?"

She groaned. "If we're lucky we'll get a 'C' for this project. And that's optimistic."

Geiney pouted, "Hey! I don't see you doing any work on this assignment! And for your information, they really are very powerful images." He poked at her and crossed his arms across his chest.

"I will be narrating this presentation. Don't forget I'm the articulate one." Alice confidently smirked.

"You weren't articulate when I was pulling the load on this assignment." He muttered to himself but she had heard and slapped his arm. "Ow!" He rubbed his arm with a mock hurt look.

"Serves you right! I thought I'd tell you that I won't be available right after school! I have a doctor's appointment. But you can send me the presentation through email. Here's my email," She handed him a small scrap of paper. He stared at the letters in blue glittery ink and pocketed his friend's email. "But I will be available tonight though so… If you want to come over we can finish the project at my house."

"Will do. I will give you a call later tonight. I'll see you later."

She waved at him and walked off. Luke and Charlie, Geiney's best friends, silently leaned on the lockers next to Geiney's. They patiently waited as if stalking their prey. When Geiney turned around he stepped back in fright and let out a scream that caught half the hallways' attention.

"The hell, guys!?" He sighed, feeling his heart in his throat from the fright.

"Hello to you too." Luke rolled his eyes, "Honestly, you're too easy to scare."

"We came to see if you wanted to hang out with us tonight." Charlie said, putting a hand on Geiney's shoulder to make sure he was alright. Geiney thought about it for a moment, remembering what he had planned with his family and with Alice.

"I don't know, guys. I've got a lot going on right now. Plus it doesn't help when I've got the homework of a thousand questions." He spoke dramatically, referring to their math class' homework assignment.

"We can do a group study at my house. You only live a couple blocks away from me." Charlie said, optimistic that they would hang out again.

Geiney opened his mouth but closed it, thinking about it momentarily, but his hands were full already.

"It sounds great but I don't know. My situation at home is quite difficult and I'm just barely surviving the—" He stopped himself from mentioning demons, "the struggle at home." He finished. Both his friends' faces fell, a sight that made Geiney feel guilty of. He felt like he was lying to them, something he wasn't used to doing. However, he wanted to believe he wasn't lying. Ailyn's training was starting to wear him down and while his body was sore every day, he knew it was for his own good. He didn't want to die at an early age.

"Sorry, maybe next time." He closed his locker and turned the dial on the combination lock. He walked away feeling the heavy guilt for lying to his friends. His mind struggled with his current situation and he began mentally arguing with himself in circles.

'It's not lying.' He repeated to himself. Truth be told, he actually did want a day off, but Luz's words rang through his head. 'You must complete your training every day. No slacking off! Much more powerful demons will show up and you must be ready for them'.

' _Bring it! I can take them!'_ His own words repeated in his head, but he wasn't so sure if he believed them yet. He thought vanquishing demons was going to be easy, but now he knew it wasn't as easy as he believed it to be. In fact, it was going to get much harder for him.

Geiney walked off, leaving his two friends behind. "Busy again…" Luke grumbled, "He has time for Alice but not for us, huh?"

Charlie argued, "He's working hard on that project with her. And his family has always demanded a lot of his time."

"You're only fine with this because _you_ have other friends," Luke snidely remarked, his negative attitude surfacing in the wake of being stood up time and time again.

"You would too if you just got out more," Charlie meant it genuinely. Luke was quite pale, not having seen the sun regularly due to his situation at home.

Luke glanced down the hallway, noticing some other students taking notice of them. One of them, a blonde girl in their class, met his gaze when he stared at her. She had a tense gaze, her deep red eyes watching him.

This was Ruby Garland, one of the newer students. Short, spiky blonde hair, a traditional red skirt and blue blazer she wore with confidence and the attitude of a loner. She came to school not too long after that mysterious girl Geiney mentioned, Alex.

As Ruby walked off, Charlie joked, "What? Got a crush now?"

"Geiney barely mentioned Alex, you know… I've been wondering where she went," Luke still had a Skype message from him, saying that Alex was swinging by. He had used this to stand Luke up then, and had deleted it later. But Luke had saved it.

Charlie remembered seeing the text, "Yeah, it is weird. You wanted to ask him about that, right?"

Luke was pondering that himself. Geiney had always been weird; leaving suddenly on family calls. It wasn't until very recently that Luke noticed an escalation, and Alex's mysterious disappearance worried him. Was Geiney in the mob? Was he secretly a serial killer and Alice was his next target? What if his sisters were freaks who practiced magic in their home and sacrificed people?

"And the fact Ruby is new too, and the fact she has that presence of…fierceness that I have yet to see… I wonder if she's different like Alex was… If she'll disappear too?" Luke didn't want that to happen. Ruby was scary in her own way, but she was also kind. No matter how often the boys hit on her for her appreciable bust or wide hips, she hadn't assaulted them like our mutual friend Krystal once had. What a girl…

"Imagining ridiculous things again or just fantasizing about the new girl?" Charlie gave him a devious grin.

Luke blushed, "I w-would never! That's not funny!" Shaking his head, he considered what they had just discussed, "I just… want my friend back." Luke walked off, leaving Charlie alone in the hallway.

"To think I'm the popular one of our group…" Charlie spoke self-derisively, "How can I cheer him up now? If Geiney really is too busy… maybe I can introduce him to that girl. Ruby, is it?" A plan began to form in his mind.

Somewhere in the underworld, a group of five demons shimmered inside a cavern simultaneously. Everyone was dressed in suits with different colored ties; all except one man with a foolish smirk plastered on his face. The leader, a man in a finely pressed suit, stared at the other members of his team and felt his anger rise when he saw the condition of the smirk plastered fool in a green shirt with a cannabis leaf drawn on the front of the shirt.

"All hail Lord Losifer!" They chanted simultaneously in a chorus-like manner. The leader nodded and requested them all to take a seat on a nearby meeting desk with the pentagram symbol attached to the top of the wood. There were five bright colored jewels on each point representing each member of the group. Losifer, being the leader, sat down at the red Jewel.

"Gabbriel." He called out. The man in the suit with the blue tie stood up.

"Present, Lord Losifer." He announced his presence dutifully. For Losifer, Gabbriel was the sole member who took his duty seriously enough to respond on call without some sort of quip or complaint. Lord Losifer smiled and turned to the next member. Almost immediately his smile fell upon seeing the next in the chain of command, his already low expectations decreasing dramatically.

"Raviel." He spoke through clenched teeth.

The man stood up with the same goofy smile on his face, "I'm here, dude. Oh, I mean Lord Loser-fest."

"That's Losifer!" He balled his fist and struck the table making the whole table jump on impact.

"Chill your horses, dude. I meant no disrespect; I mean you are our leader after all." He sat down with the same patience he had when he stood up. The outburst had no effect on him. Lord Losifer took a deep breath and slowly let it out as he seated himself again and attempted to regain his lost composure.

"Why are you wearing that stupid shirt anyways? I thought I told you to investigate the Diamond Ones." Losifer growled, still tightly wound by the antics of his cohorts.

"Yeah, but dude…" He paused unnecessarily long for Losifer's liking, "They have lives of their own and like… um—they're not even at home."

"You are the most idiotic demon I've ever met. A worm would do a better job than you and they are currently above you." Losifer may have been born to do great things; this would be the low point on the major epics they would write of the demon that outsmarted and killed the Diamond Ones. So long as he ensured that manipulative bastard not hog all the glory. He did not expect such trouble working on a contract for a low tier dark witch to be this demanding of his time and patience.

For Lucifer's sake, they were newbies. Practically newborns, fledgling witches with zero talent. How could Jeremy and Alex have flopped on this mission so painfully?

"Yeah, they are." He chuckled and looked upwards, "Hello, little sausages!" Raviel amused himself like a child in wonder.

Losifer growled. "Yuriel."

Yuriel stood up and cleared his throat. "Present, Lord Losifer." Yuriel wore a clean navy colored suit with a pink tie. When asked why, he explained that he blended in much more with society with such a tie. Although worn only in summer, his façade didn't exactly leave the impression that he was a normal businessman.

"Mike Hell."

Mike rolled his eyes and begrudgingly stood up. He hated roll call. It made him feel much more like a prisoner than an actual member of a demonic circle.

"Present." He snarled the words hatefully. Why was this idiot in control? That blasted woman should have chosen him; he was far superior to the door mat his pitiable boss was. Always plotting and scheming. Witches should be killed, not poisoned in the night as Losifer was want to suggest.

Losifer cleared his throat, urging him to continue. With hesitation and through gritted teeth he finished the rehearsed statement, "Lord Losifer". Mike Hell made a point to kill him later; not even for the reward, but out of a need for catharsis.

Losifer smiled at his group although the smiling buffoon made him grit his teeth in doing so.

"My fellow demons," He announced, "We have finally unearthed Silas." Gabbriel and Yuriel showed some sign of celebration.

Mike Hell only growled, "Unnecessary. We can't trust a rogue demon who was petrified by the boss himself. I could easily kill them right now."

Losifer shook his head, "I said it many times. Our contractor wants it to be without too many casualties. We're not leveling a city."

"But Yuriel gets to go out and exact 'justice' on the persecutors of his people?" Mike argued in annoyance.

Yuriel raised an eyebrow, "At least I discriminate when I kill. Without humans, what fun would there be?"

Mike argued, "Humans are not fun. They are parasites. God will only recognize us as his _real_ Chosen People when we correct his mistake!"

"But like… Chilling is an option," Raviel reminded him, some kind of blunt in hand, "And they make such… psychedelic stuff."

Gabbriel lamented the state of his team, "I do wish you had drug tested us first, Lord Losifer."

"I did," Losifer groaned. Raviel had just rewound time to undo the drugs he did and passed it anyway.

Raviel added, "I agree with Mike though. This Silas guy might just kill us for the credit, right? If I die, how can I party?"

"Our next step is to perform the ritual of de-petrifying him. Gabbriel, do we have everything we need to start the spell?"

Gabbriel stood up, "Yes, Lord Losifer. We have all the ingredients, including the virgin we must sacrifice. She is trapped in one of the caverns below us. We are now awaiting your orders."

"Excellent." He stood up, "We start the ceremony in an hour. Gabbriel and Yuriel! Prepare the spell. Mike Hell, make sure Raviel is sobered up for the spell and get him into presentable clothing!" He growled and shimmered out.

"We have our orders from Lord Losifer. Let's get started." Gabbriel said and shimmered alongside Yuriel. Mike Hell laughed at Raviel's idiotic display.

"You, my fellow warrior, will only get yourself killed." They shimmered out of the cavern, with Mike concocting a plan to sober up his associate before the ritual. If they aren't at their full strength the spell will not work. And while it would be amusing to see Losifer vanquish Raviel, his own personal goals wouldn't be accomplished and he would hate for that to happen.

Doctor Danson took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Why did he have to deal with idiotic people? This was supposed to be a place to help people in need… He stared at the name of the patient he had just finished yelling at and shook his head.

"What sixteen year old wants a vasectomy just so he can have wanton unprotected sex?" He muttered as he clenched his fists repeatedly. He willed his body to relax; at the moment strangling a sixteen year old seemed like a good idea to him, amoral as it was. He heard a knock on the door and gave a verbal beckon to whoever knocked.

"Doctor Danson, I have escorted Evan Nicholson to Room two. I'm going to give them a minute to get settled in and run Evan's pediatric checkup. They stressed that they wanted to talk to you about Evan's health problems." Luz announced and the doctor took a minute to remember who she was referring to.

"Yes, of course. Evan Nicholson, the boy who fainted at school?"

"That's the one, doctor." She nodded.

"Alright. Give me a minute and I'll go in with you." He slammed his other patients chart closed and grabbed his stethoscope. Luz noticed the action and frowned, piecing what little she could from the last patient that just left. Finally the curiosity began to overtake her and she took the opportunity to assuage her curiosity.

"So what happened with Mr. Watson?" She raised an eyebrow and made sure she was inside the office with the door closed.

"So get this," He started and she leaned up against the door. "Sixteen year old comes in to complain about chest pains, right? Well as I'm questioning him he tells me that he doesn't actually have chest pains. Instead he wanted to talk to me about a more intimate issue. Fine by me. You know me when I deal with young adults." He gestured to other case files, referring to some personal questions patients had when they wanted to talk to their health care provider alone.

She nodded as she did the same thing herself when certain patients wanted advice or wanted to know the answer to an intimate question. Certain patients, especially teenagers, felt shy or rather embarrassed about talking about their more intimate regions. Having studied in the medical field, she understood why they felt shy. She was the same when they were studying reproductive organs up close and personal.

Some patients they received will admit to her or the doctor that they made up the reason they wanted to be seen to talk about more private matters. Neither she nor the doctor had a problem with that… until now.

"Anyways, he begins telling me that he wants to have a vasectomy so that he can have sex with no worries."

"Oh?" Luz could see why the doctor was so upset now and even she could see the holes in the plan. She shook her head in disbelief at the nerve of some people. She didn't know what was more shocking; the impulsive irrational mind of a teenager or the fact that the teenager wanted to medically throw his life away for some sins of the flesh.

"And what did you do? I assumed that when Mr. Watson began complaining that you were a terrible doctor was because you told him to put on a helmet when he rode his bike."

"And about that! What kind of teenager drives on a motorcycle? Isn't he too young to ride a damn motorized bike meant for an adult? The kid can barely see what's in front of him and society expects him to be adult enough to ride on a machine of destruction at his age. On top of that, bikes are dangerous for kids, especially without any precautions or protection!" The doctor didn't often explode into a rage easily, but this was a tough topic for him. Being born sterile and wanting children always ensured he worked himself into an angry fit when others squandered the possibility of ever having a real family. "And let's not forget the most important thing; the kid wants a freaking vasectomy. Just picture the moment he gets his things cut off just to step into a moving bike and ride his way back home. Actually, that might be a good lesson for him to stop acting stupid. I'll perform the surgery myself if I have to!"

"Calm yourself, Doctor Danson. Let him think it over a week and I'm sure he'll listen to your advice and realize how bad it actually is. Everybody you yell at certainly does." She looked at the folder she had been waving around and realized why she stepped inside in the first place.

"Oh right, little Evan Nicholson is here." The doctor looked at her in confusion, trying to remember his patient. "Ah, yes, now I remember. I spoke with Mrs. Nicholson herself when she made the appointment and told me about how frightened she was about Evan. Little Evan passed out on the playground with a bloody nose and wanted me to check him out."

"Do you mind if I come along? I still have to do his checkup."

"No, come along. I remember he likes you." He gave a rare small sincere smile.

He grabbed his stethoscope and wrapped it around his shoulders and walked into room one.

"Little Evan Nicholson." He announced. The little boy shyly lifted his hand.

"Here." He responded softly.

"Mrs. Nicholson, good to see you again. How are you?" He shook her hand.

"Fine, doctor. I'm just worried about Evan. I've never been so scared in my entire life. He passed out again just yesterday at lunch time at school. I received the call when I was at work."

"Well, let's give him a checkup and then I'll start on the bigger tests. Luz, would you mind? And I'll ask Mrs. Nicholson a few questions." Danson relied on Luz greatly, more than other doctors might rely on their coworkers. Luz appreciated his trust in her.

"Okay, Evan. I want you to relax while I put this around your arm." She dragged the Oximetry machine over to him and opened the Velcro cuff, wrapping it securely around his arm.

"The machine will squeeze your arm when I turn it on. Okay?" Evan nodded and she turned the machine on with a low noise. The machine began whirring and finally Evan raised his arm and smiled wide, feeling the weird sensation of the cuff tightening around his arm. The machine stopped and beeped twice and released the air inside the cuff and Evan's arm with it. She read the machine and the doctor wrote it on Evan's chart.

"Heart rate for Evan is eighty beats per minute. Respiratory rate is twenty per minute. Blood pressure is ninety over fifty which is normal for someone his age." She removed a metal probe from the side of the machine and put a plastic tube over the metal probe.

"Evan, open your mouth and move your tongue up. I'm going to stick this under your tongue." He did as instructed and she held the probe underneath his tongue for a moment and only took it out when the machine beeped.

"101.9. He has a fever."

"One that won't go away," Mrs. Nicholson added, a worried expression glued to her face.

"How long has he had the fever, Mrs. Nicholson?" Danson asked as he stepped up to Evan and began feeling underneath his neck for any abnormalities.

"This is going to be his third week in a row."

"Has he had any medicine for the fever?" Danson inquired further.

"Yes, some pediatric cough medicine. He's taken the entire bottle and it still hasn't gone away."

"Evan, can you lie down for me?" Danson spoke politely to the boy, a dramatic change from his earlier rant. The boy nodded and plopped himself down on the examination bed. The doctor lifted his shirt up and started feeling Evan's stomach area, causing the boy to squirm and have a laughing fit. Luz smiled with Evan.

"That rules that theory out. Tenderness is normal, no abnormal bulges or bumps. No pain." He waited for Evan to stop laughing before he moved to the next step. He started to tap on Evan's stomach, causing Evan to tense up and hold his laughter.

"Percussion is normal and he doesn't have any abnormalities." He pulled Evan's shirt down and asked him to sit back up. The doctor began examining Evan's body and when he was finished the doctor looked thoughtful.

"You know there are many reasons for black outs. But he doesn't display any of them." He put his hand underneath his chin and with a frowning look started to think.

"If you don't mind I'd like to take a blood sample for analysis."

"Mommy…" He whined as he looked to his mother for help. She stood up and stood beside him, comforting him.

"It's okay, Evan." She assured him.

"Don't worry, Evan. I'm so good at this that you won't feel it. I promise." With hesitation, Evan let Luz prepare his arm for the blood extraction. She put on some gloves and wrapped a tie around his arm, tightly constricting blood flow. She opened a disposable sanitized wipe and wiped the spot she was going to insert the needle into.

He winced at the cold feeling of the alcohol on his arm. With great skill she inserted the needle into one of the veins. He gasped when he saw the needle be inserted into his arm but made no other movement. After a moment, he felt more comfortable.

"It doesn't hurt." Evan's comment made Luz smile at her accomplishment. They watched as the venipuncture needle sucked the blood into its glass cage where it filled up with red liquid. Once it was full she carefully removed the needle and grabbed one of the children's Band-Aids. She grabbed a superhero one and showed it to Evan. Once he was content with the Band-Aid, she placed it over his wound and then grabbed two different colored lollipops from one of the cabinets.

"Because you were really brave, you get two." She said. He smiled and took them.

"What do you say," asked his mother.

Evan gleefully smiled, "Thank you!"

Luz handed the sample to the doctor and threw the used needle in the red biohazard bin in the corner of the office and threw away anything medically used into the trash bin. She removed her gloves and threw them in the trash. Afterwards she washed her hands and turned to the doctor who had just finished labeling the little red glass cage.

"I'm going to send this directly to the lab, Mrs. Nicholson. Until the results come in, I won't recommend any medications or treatment outside of what you've been doing. But for now, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your son. The lab results will show what is actually going on." His assurance meant little to the reasonably concerned mother.

"What causes him to faint, Doctor?" She asked with trepidation.

"What was he doing before he fainted?" He asked.

Mrs. Nicholson gave more context of the situation, "He was just playing with the other kids in the playground at school when he suddenly fainted. He wouldn't wake up no matter how much I shook him."

"Based on his examination I can't give you a direct answer, but it could be a number of different things. It could be that his blood sugar was low at the time or that exercising has put some stress to his body, but for his age I don't see that happening. Don't worry Mrs. Nicholson, the lab results will get back to me in a week and we can go over them together. For now I would recommend just to monitor his diet, his exercise, and play time. If he should slow down, or stop, or even faint, give me a call and I will get him in as soon as possible."

"Thank you, doctor." She said. She gathered her things and Luz walked them out to the front.

"Do you still have Federal Care Insurance?" Luz asked when they arrived at the front desk. She began typing in a short report of what was done in the examination room and she even included a note for the lab they were to send the blood works to.

"Yes, I do." Mrs. Nicholson answered.

Luz typed away at the keyboard. "We will bill the insurance and you don't have to pay anything out of pocket."

"Thank god." She sighed.

"Mrs. Nicholson, I noticed you looked more tired in the examination room today. Are you okay?"

She gave a weak smile. "Working two jobs kind of does that to you."

"Well, have you applied to receive some aid from the government? Such as social security income, food stamps, or children's school support income?"

The woman shook her head, "I could only qualify for children's school income. Supposedly I make enough income to support the both of us but where in this city could you get by with working two lower-wage jobs? And the children's school income can only be used in certain locations and even when they have promotions I can't use it often, if at all. So it's not much help." She sighed miserably. "Rent is $1500, and the food is another $500 a month. Then I have numerous bills and insurances to pay. I can barely keep up even with two jobs. Now I don't know what's wrong with Evan. I don't know if he's sick or how much his treatments are going to be." Her voice started breaking.

She sniffled and Luz handed her a tissue from her desk. Mrs. Nicholson thanked her pitifully blew into the tissue. "I don't know how I'm going to make it if Evan has to take treatments and tests." Luz, feeling sympathy, remembered something about their practice.

"Mrs. Nicholson, we can help you obtain all sorts of financial aid. Our practice is federally approved meaning that we can fill out some forms and you'll be automatically approved for federal aid no matter the situation.

"Can you do that?" She asked, almost not believing what she was hearing.

Luz nodded, "Yes. If you weren't qualified before, we can assure you will be qualified with us. If you file with us the government sees that you have medical expenses and can easily qualify for any and all financial aid within reason. If you want we can set up an appointment for another day to start filling out the forms?"

"Yes, please. I work every day but I don't work Friday morning. Can we make it for that day?"

Luz checked her calendar, looking for an available spot.

"We have three patients booked for ten o'clock and after. However, we can fit you in since the other patients will be seeing the doctor. I can help you fill out the forms and the only thing I will ask you to bring is your latest rent statement and any paystubs and other bills you pay for. We'll need records of your general expenses to show you need the aid."

Mrs. Nicholson nodded and smiled at Luz. "Thank you so much. I will see you on Friday then."

"Come on, Evan." Evan waved goodbye with one lollipop still in his mouth and they both exited the office.

Losifer began chanting from the black book he held in one of his hands, with a blood soaked Athame in the other. He let the blood drip into the book, which was absorbed into its tan colored pages. The rest of his team surrounded him, also chanting alongside him. The men continued to chant, their words reverberating off the walls of the dark, poorly-lit room. Losifer chanted, always staring at the book while Gabbriel stared at what they were trying to unearth. A figure in a mummified position lay forever engraved in the stone they managed to dig up. Its facial expression showed that he had been buried in a painful way.

The very halls of the cave began filling with air, as shadows and figures began surrounding the group. Wind whirled around the group, and they chanted louder as their spell began waking the mummified figure from its eternal slumber. Their ties began swinging back and forth as the wind whipped at them. The more they chanted in the dead language, the more the stony colored figure began showing flesh and only once the figure was completely uncovered from its stony tomb did it begin to twitch and move.

Little by little life returned to the man until the figure took one long inhale. The mysterious man fell to his knees, gasping for the air he so long needed. He coughed and sputtered. Losifer smiled at his accomplishment.

He closed the book with an audible slam and handed it to his right hand Gabbriel, who took it without a word. Everyone stared at the demon in his humanoid form on the floor, gasping and breathing in deeply.

"Welcome back to the underworld, Silas." Losifer spoke in a demonic language. The figure remained silent, slowly examining its surroundings.

"What age is this?" His voice was croaked, deep and slightly strained. Having been entombed for who knows how many millennia would do that to a person.

"The mortals call it two thousand twelve. For us… well, about two thousand years since your imprisonment, give or take a century. From our demonic circle to you, we welcome you back with open arms." Silas stood up slowly and stared at the group as his mind processed everything that was currently happening.

"Dude, I think he needs his rest." Raviel spoke monotonously, "He needs time to wind doooooooooown." He dragged out the last word, motioning with his body by leaning over.

"Yes, Raviel, I can see that." Losifer rolled his eyes, "I'm Losifer." He pointed at himself, then to Yuriel, "Yuriel." Next, he pointed to Mike. "Mike. Now take him to one of the caverns to rest."

"My name is Mike Hell! Say the full name!" Mike was already angered by Losifer's bullshit roll call, but now he was just outright disrespecting him.

Losifer rolled his eyes and turned to Mike. "Who's the leader here? Tell me, who in this group is the leader? Me. Not you, me. Don't forget who saved you from purgatory." Mike gritted his teeth but said nothing else. The two men grabbed one arm and shimmered into a spare cavern they could use to help their new ally rest.

"So like, what do we do now… do-we-do," Raviel laughed at himself, "Do-be-do-be-doo." He began singing moving his finger to the sway of the music he listened in his head. He stopped and ducked, holding his now throbbing head. The culprit of the headache was Gabbriel with his fist still near Raviel's aching head.

"You have been obviously in the mortal world too long. You're starting to act like one too."

"Y'all need to chill man. Try one of nature's goodness." The other demons rolled their eyes in annoyance as he tried to hand the other demons a sample of "nature's goodness".

"Silas needs time to recuperate. Once he is well rested we go with our next plan. Silas attacks the Diamond Ones." Losifer was certain of his backup plan. None of the others seemed remotely convinced besides Gabbriel, ever the dog to his mater.

"You never did tell us how you managed to find out where they were hiding. We thought the Elders hid them from demon's view." Gabbriel inquired, wondering what advantages Losifer had. Did it have to do with the contractor?

"I will explain that when we meet up with Silas later tonight. For now, it is time to retreat and set up phase one of our plan." The other two demons nodded and shimmered out leaving Losifer alone.

"Very soon this world will be ruled under my command." He grinned before shimmering out. Having things to do, he needed to not waste more time. While Silas rested, he would make good use of his time.

Ailyn wandered the residential area and found the street she had been hunting down for the past day, Atlantis. She casually roamed the streets taking in the details of the houses that she passed by. None of them looked like the house she was looking for. Ever since Wong had showed her clues about the Cuentas' whereabouts she had been secretly looking around for them. She reached the end of the street and started for the next street. _Maybe it will be in West Atlantis. I hope Wong wasn't wrong about this._ As soon as she crossed the street her eyes caught on to a particular house, the second house to the right of the street. The house resembled that of the image with the crayon drawing of the house. As she got closer the first house had a young woman tending to the garden in front of the house. She walked up to the gate of the woman.

"Excuse me, madam?" The young woman turned around, a couple patches of dirt stuck to the young woman's face. She had a hand raised, holding a squid hoe. She smiled, albeit awkwardly, to acknowledge Ailyn and stood up, dusting dirt and soil from her pant legs.

"Hello. How can I help you?" She walked to the gate, taking off her pink gardening gloves.

"Hi. My name's Ailyn, and I was wondering who lived in the house next door? I saw the 'for sale' sign and I was interested in it." Ailyn figured a white lie wouldn't hurt terribly here.

"Oh, that was the late Mr. Sullivan. He recently passed away a little over a month ago due to a heart attack. God bless his soul, he was a kind man and I will miss him dearly." The woman frowned.

"Didn't he live with someone else?"

The young woman shook her head no, "Mrs. Sullivan died shortly after I moved in here. The poor man was so stricken with grief he would wander aimlessly around his property. I saw his children shortly after but then they moved away after some time. Mr. Sullivan recovered, but every now and then he would call out for her." She sighed, "It always brought tears to my eyes to see him that way."

"So then his children are selling the house?"

"Yes, I do believe so. They received the right to the house and have decided to sell it. They live far away so they weren't able to live in the house. It is a beautiful home. Mr. Sullivan did his best to keep it neat and tidy." She responded.

Ailyn took in the sight of the property. The front yard was kept very well cleaned and the grass bright. Just as the young woman had said, he made the effort to keep his house beautiful. The trees looked like they needed some water but showed no signs of being harmed before. The house was auburn painted with white trims and it looked like it was recently painted in the last few years with the bright solid color.

"I see what you mean. The house truly is well kept."

"He told me one day it was because his wife loved to garden. After she passed away he decided to keep her memory alive in her garden."

"And what of his children? Do they visit the house often?" Ailyn asked with her attention now on the house she kept studying.

"His children came and picked up some of his things, but they visit rather infrequently. He has one son and daughter. I believe his daughter and her husband are taking care of the house while it is on the market. I don't see them much as they aren't that talkative, but they tell me how they will surely miss their father. They seem a little strange, but they do seem to take care of the house so Mr. Sullivan can rest his poor soul."

Ailyn nodded. "Thank you, madam. I hope we will get to be good neighbors." The young woman smiled, nodded, and went back to her gardening. Ailyn walked past the house, eyeing it up and down. It looked exactly like the drawing she saw in Wong's Scrying method.

"Mr. Sullivan, huh?" She questioned, putting her hands in her pockets and walking off. She wouldn't know how close she was to finding her answers and the two people she was searching to find.

"Thank you," Silas paused, unsure of what the man's name was, "Raviel." Silas had looked over an English book to better communicate with his new allies, clearly centered in on that language. The book was from the 1700s, alas. Losifer wasn't much for reading, a shame. Silas thought that reading was the most important thing for an aspiring demon king.

"'Tis a pleasure, dude." Raviel spoke so casually, so confidently that Silas raised an eyebrow, not sure what "dude" meant.

"I see times and the language has evolved." Silas took a sip of the drink Raviel had made for him to recover faster. It would take some time for him to fully regain his strength, but for now, at least he was able to stand up on his own.

"I don't know what that means but sure, dude." He sat next to Silas. "So like, what does it feel to be back alive? I mean, being imprisoned in some rock must have not been cool. I know for sure I wouldn't like being buried in stone."

"It feels rather strange to be free again. But I'm more curious to understand why I'm back. What is it that your leader wants from me?" Silas had been used before. He knew how to play politically.

Raviel lit up a blunt, "Oh, Losifer. He wants to take over the underworld. Or something like that. He wants you to attack the Diamond Ones."

Were witches naming themselves after rocks now? "The Diamond Ones? Who are they?"

"Just a group of Witches that don't like demons. Other than that, I don't know dude. I just work for him and when I'm not working, I chill with the universe." Silas stayed completely silent, trying to understand what in the ever growing hell the man was saying.

"So Losifer is your leader. It is not uncommon to take over the underworld, but the Source will not be too happy with that." The Source, of course, wasn't infallible. Any demon could, with enough allies or power.

"Yeah, you're telling me, dude. It's a huge mission, but Losifer promises to lead us into glory. But I don't, like, understand his obsession with taking over the underworld. He could want total power like the rest of us."

"If you replace the source you _do,_ " he stressed, "obtain total power."

Raviel stayed silent, contemplating what he had just been told, "Oh, yeah. Dude, you're right. You are one smart cookie, you know that?" Silas shook his head in disbelief. He either was playing the fool really well, or the demon was a total dimwit. He drank more heartily. Already the potion he was drinking made his body feel better and less sore.

"Dude, what are your powers?" Raviel asked, trying to make conversation. Silas considered it a moment. Being imprisoned made you forget certain things and for Silas he was still trying to remember who or what imprisoned him.

"I can conjure the spirits or essence of dead entities or demons. In other words, I can bring a vanquished demon back to the world of the living. Their existence isn't necessarily wiped, but rather morphed into a different form." Silas furrowed his brow before speaking again. "I also have the power to teleport myself from place to place. The other power I remember I have is Reconstitution. Meaning my body can withstand a lethal attack be it from an Athame, spells or even potions. Not forever, of course. Still limits to that." He opened his mouth and a noise came out but rather he couldn't find what he wanted to say, "I know I have more powers, but I can't remember at this moment. I must rest and gather more strength."

"Dude, those are some nifty powers." He nodded, a goofy smile plastered on his lips.

"Why do you keep saying 'dude'?" Silas questioned. Surely the language hadn't evolved that much, could it have?

"It's how we talk to each other, dude. Like partners. Since we revived you, you are like one of us."

"I am not interested in partnerships." Silas responded.

"But I am. And I'm sure you will be too after what I have to say." They turned their heads to see Losifer, Gabbriel, Yuriel and Mike Hell shimmer in front of the cavern.

"You could say you owe us a favor since we did unearth you. Or are you not the 'honorable' demon they claimed you to be?" Losifer actually believed this would work.

Silas found it laughable. Silas grunted and downed the rest of his drink. "Since you did revive me, I must say I do owe you my gratitude and my aide. To whom may I be of service?" Silas added the next bit with hints of sarcasm, "And may I add that it is quite an honor to meet the demon who unearthed me."

"To the great Losifer, dear Silas." Losifer held his hand out, ready to make a pact with Silas. Silas hesitantly grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Very well. Please come with me. We must talk about what our future accomplishments must be. And I will even tell you of your first task. Have you heard of the Diamond Ones?" Silas nodded and followed them out, the rest of the group following closely behind.

"Yes, I am aware of the Witches. I don't know much about them but I was made aware of them by… Dude." Silas said it hesitantly.

Raviel nodded and tried to high five him, though Silas only stood there unaware of the gesture, "Small steps… I get it, dude."

"Your first task is to attack them. You see, we have been watching them for some time now and feel it is our duty for them to know who they deal with. They have been hidden from view by the Elders for quite a few years now, and as the story goes, they hold the key to ultimate power." Not that Losifer bought that. Every single witch family was said to have 'ultimate power'. Because that saved the other six families their contractor had already up and murdered. People may view the underworld as full of vanity, but were these so-called heroes much better?

 _Ultimate power…_ Silas thought to himself. It wasn't something he was interested in. He was interested in other things, like knowledge, skill, and even being quite the king of fools again. Slowly, his mind began remembering little things.

Losifer probed for more information, "From the stories down in the underworld, you can do almost anything."

"I used to. Being imprisoned for thousands of years makes it difficult to remember what powers I had or how to use them. What I can tell you is I can bring back vanquished demons." Silas never relished in using that power. He did find it fun to reinstate wars among men or reopen old wounds. The little things, you know?

Losifer's eyes widened at the prospect of obtaining such grand power, "Excellent! Then I know what you must do first. You must bring back their first vanquished demon. A demon known as Jeremy."

Gabbriel spoke up, "My lord, how do you know such information?"

Losifer had neglected to tell them until now, of course. They weren't important enough to get full disclosure. "Ah, yes. You see a few weeks ago I was on the hunt for a young witch who escaped one of my rituals. She was too afraid to sacrifice another human life for power so she fled. I was merely searching for her so her life could be converted into power for wasting my time. However, instead I caught a demon trying to vanquish a pack of witches. Upon further investigation I found out that they were the lost Diamond One's; the son and daughters of a line of witches under the protection of the Diamond of Hecate. They were indeed alive and well. I watched them vanquish the low level demon and realized the power they had within them." He paused and watched the faces of his team beam in realization.

Mike realized, "You said a dark witch had contracted you to slay the others. You killed the other six families but had no clue for the seventh, right? You found the last family by total accident, huh?"

Losifer begrudgingly nodded, angered that his heroic tale was marred with the facts, "That is when I asked each and every one of you to monitor the family. Now is the moment in which we make our appearance and show them who we are and who they are dealing with. Silas, this is your first task. Have fun." He shimmered out and the rest of the group followed suit leaving Silas alone.

"What have I gotten myself into this time?" He pondered, "Still no matter how I look at it, I need their help." He took a deep breath, "Time I visit the mortal world…"

A dark-haired woman picked up an old child's drawing in crayon and examined it, a smile spreading across her features. She wore a T-cut shirt that complimented her khaki pants. Her white and pink sneakers squeaked as she shifted her weight around. The house was drawn rather neatly and it looked exactly like the house they currently resided in.

"What are you doing, Mia?" A man inquired as he stepped into the room.

"Look at this drawing. Isn't it cute?" She held up a drawing to the man. The man wore a serious expression, clearly not in the mood for any more distractions. He wore a collared button up shirt with a silver necklace modeled with a diamond shape and slacks on, the clothes neatly pressed.

"We cannot look through their personal belongings. It's bad enough that I'm using my powers to make Mr. Sullivan's only child think that you are his sister. We don't need to go through his belongings.

"Oh relax, Josh. It's not like we're going to get the capital punishment."

"But all we've been doing is using our powers for personal gain." He argued.

She turned around sharply, giving him an angry stare, "Personal gain? Fifteen years, Josh! For fifteen years I could not hold my children! I could not kiss them goodnight. I did not see my children grow up because of our selfish desire!" She snapped, her breath ragged as she finally let go of some of her anger.

"Mia". He leaned in and embraced her, comforting her, "I know, Mia. I missed them, too. Our ambitions led us to many sleepless nights without our children."

She sniffled, "I just want my babies back." She whimpered.

He stood hugging her silently for a moment, running his hand up and down her back in slow circles. His eye caught something on the corner of a nearby table. Their Scrying crystal began moving on its own.

"Mia… look." He tapped her on the back and she slowly swallowed the saliva that built up from her crying. She turned around and stiffened up noticing the crystal moving as well. He stepped forward and grabbed the crystal and hovered it over the map he was using. He slowly rotated the crystal over the map as he felt his chest rise, his breath tightening in his chest. The crystal forced his hand down on the map and they both leaned in.

"Demon activity…" She said.

"At that Abstraks company again?" Josh clarified.

Mia frowned to herself but didn't let it show, "So not our kids… I'm going to take a nap." Dejected, her shoulders slumped and she left the room.

Josh sighed, wishing he knew where he could find them. They were so close, yet so far.


	8. The Plan And The Prank

Author's note: Thank you for sticking to my story thus far! Starting from Chapter 7 I have been working alongside a good friend of mine who not only has been editing my work from the beginning, but he is also now a co-author for my story. I will try to post more often, but no promises but expect this story to continue moving forward. I will post a link to my friend's account at the bottom of the chapter. Thank you, RobertHawkinz!

The scared man was cornered and his only weapon was a hammer he held in his hands. "What are you!?" He screamed at the man in the suit with the pink tie.

The man seemed to only smile wider, his own pleasure rising with the terrified screams of the scared man.

"That toy won't help you." The man whimpered as he held the hammer in front of him as if it were some kind of shield.

The man stepped and swung the hammer with the claws towards Yuriel in a slashing manner. Yuriel caught the hammer by the handle and threw it behind him.

His last resort was the gun he had in his back pocket. He took it out and shot at his predator three times. Yuriel didn't even flinch.

"You know, I'm curious. What would you do next if you had actually killed me?" Yuriel brushed off the attack and fixed his suit, frowning at the newly created holes "That suit was three hundred dollars." He scoffed and turned his attention back to the cowardly man, a wet spot growing in between the man's legs as the smell of urine begin to rise, much to the amusement of the demon.

"You are a very bad man, Mister Lowe. You bedded an innocent woman and didn't warn her of your little 'problem'. How does that make you feel?" Yuriel prodded.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You have—oh. what is the name you people use? A sexually transmitted disease?"

"How did you know that?" The man began freaking out, his chest heaving as he tried to find a way to escape. He knew he couldn't fight the man as the three shots to the man's chest proved futile. How was this man still standing? The man began to blubber pleads that fell on deaf ears. The more the man whimpered and sobbed, the more excited Yuriel became.

"I have a sense for knowing certain things. I know your deepest secrets, your darkest desires. Isn't that why you did it, Mr. Lowe? Because you love the feeling it gives you when you knowingly infect a victim. Don't you?" The man's eyes recognized his own desire and he tried to swing for the man. Yuriel blocked the man by grabbing his wrist effortlessly without even looking at the mechanic.

Yuriel grabbed the nearest object to him, a flathead screwdriver, and stuck it in the mechanic's arm. The mechanic screamed and tried to tear himself from Yuriel. Yuriel broke away from the man while he was holding his injured arm.

Yuriel only played with the blood on the flathead. He examined the blood with his fingers, intrigued that it was unclean.

"I-I have AIDS!" The man threatened in between whimpers, using any excuse to be let go.

Yuriel shrugged, "Don't worry about it, Mr. Lowe. I am immune to the diseases of man. But I'm afraid you aren't immune to death. You have sinned in His eyes and I am Justice, here to cleanse the world of the mistakes He made." He opened his palm to the mechanic. The mechanic blinked in confusion, not knowing what he was doing until he he felt tremendous heat come from the ground. He tried to move but everywhere he stepped the floor began to glow and steam. The man gasped and tried to bang on the doors but even the doors began to burn his flesh.

Yuriel closed his fist and the mechanic incinerated, starting with his feet until his whole body caught on fire. Yuriel watched in utter pleasure as the mechanic was helpless. Eventually his screams died down and he collapsed on the floor, twitching until he no longer moved. Yuriel knelt next to the burning man and examined him for a moment.

"You are forgiven now." He gave a small laugh as if to make light of the situation. He looked around and his smile faltered a bit. He had to go with the plan no matter what.

He listened to the sounds of the man's skin sizzling from the heat and enjoyed the smell of incinerated flesh. He loved killing humans; a guilty pleasure of his. This was something that gave him a well known reputation in the underworld. It was just a shame he couldn't just go outside and start killing everyone he saw. However, even the Underworld had its own laws, and he had to abide by them. Otherwise the Source would put an end to him quicker than he could think.

He rolled his eyes as he picked up the telephone and dialed the emergency service number he was required to know.

"911. What is your emergency?" Spoke the male voice.

"There seems to have been an accident at 2200 Caldwell Lane. Mechanic's garage number 12."

"Okay sir, ambulance is on the way. What is the accident?" Yuriel thought that was enough and hung up. He shimmered out. The rest would have to play out by itself. He hated seeing others help out. It made him sick to his stomach. This hope that humans possessed almost naturally sickened him.

He shimmered back into their cavern. Why did he have to follow that fool's orders? Losifer was no leader; that's for certain. He would rather take orders from Raviel and that was saying something. At least Raviel's green influence was more understandable then that buffoon who was so full of himself. He didn't know what was to come but hopefully he would be able to rule the underworld soon. He hated being sided with other low level demons.

Charlie was hanging out after school. He did have one idea to try to talk to Ruby Garland. She was a member of several sports team, and today she was after school at the track practicing for a meet. She was a star, and most people knew that was one of the few times she expressed herself, her normally unchanging mask being let down for a moment of celebratory joy.

Avoiding the local bastard Cain, Charlie snuck out to the field and found two girls speaking.

Ruby was standing awkwardly, avoiding her associate's eyes. She was not speaking much, just nodding and grunting occasionally. The girl on the left of her was excitedly chatting away.

That was Sherry Inu, the track star. Only Ruby could compete with such a beast. Sherry had small ears, a tiny nose, fierce green eyes, short and shaggy hair bleached white, a nasty snarling grin for her opponents, and sharp teeth much like Ruby had. She was an excitable, fiercely loyal girl who had joined track due to her brother's recommendation. She had apparently gotten attached to Ruby and would incessantly bother her for attention.

How did Charlie know? A friend of his named Ryan did a lot of research on others. Charlie had to handle this delicately. One wrong move and he'd ruin any shot Luke had.

He was timely interrupted when someone with delicate fingers grabbed him from behind, "Stalking my sister, perhaps? Or maybe Ruby?"

That voice and his clue gave Charlie all he needed to know. Charlie turned and faced Lea Inu.

Lea was a legend in the student body. A feminine young man who liked to dress in blue clothes from shirts to jackets and more, he had fair skin, chestnut hair with patches of lighter browns, amber eyes that much resembled a cat, a small nose, thin lips, and slightly pointed ears. He was notorious as an eavesdropper who mischievously played matchmaker much to his sister and friend's chagrin.

Lea was not a malicious entity, but he was definitely the bane of some people's existence. He once beat the bully Garrett in a fight just by dodging until he punched a stop sign in his wildly swings. The sign tilted in his direction and knocked him flat in no time.

Charlie had a realization, "That just might work...!" Where he couldn't succeed, Lea might. I mean, his nickname was 'The Girlish Cupid' for a reason!

"S-stalking? N-no... I was going to talk to one of them for a... a friend. I'd say his name, but he'd probably kill me..." Charlie was joking, or so he told himself. Luke hated when others so directly interfered in his personal affairs.

Lea put a finger to his chin, "Oh? Is it that scary-faced guy who never talks to anyone of his own volition?"

Charlie reluctantly nodded, "Is that what people say now?"

"Just me. Most others don't take note at all," Lea admitted honestly, "So, which is it? Ruby or my sis?"

"I suspect Ruby. He... glanced at her earlier. And said some things about how he hopes she doesn't fade out of existence. Like..." I hesitated to end the sentence.

Lea nodded, "Alex, eh? I noticed, too. In fact, I suspect that..." After glancing at Charlie, he quieted himself, "Well, maybe it's just a stupid thought. Have any plans so far?"

Charlie shrugged, "That's what I've been trying to figure out the whole time I've been standing here. Any ideas?"

"I may have a few..." Lea's lips curled into a confident smirk, "Let's talk in the cafeteria. More privacy in a loud area, and we look less suspicious."

"If you say so," Charlie disagreed, but didn't say it aloud. Who wouldn't notice him scheming with the poster boy for romantic meddling?

Geiney clicked on the call button on the computer. Alice had told him to give her a call when he logged into his computer. They had spoken just earlier that day and he finally made it to his room and turned his computer on. The program chimed three times before the call opened into a dark window and then he saw the smiling face of his childhood friend.

"Hey, Alice. How did your doctor's appointment go?"

"It was good. It's just a checkup, you know."

"All you said was that it was a doctor's appointment and nothing else." Geiney poked fun at her.

"Excuse me for not giving out every single detail I can think of." She rolled her eyes, "I saw what you did with the project."

"And what'd you think of it?" He asked.

She nodded, "It's not bad, but too many photos for my liking." She looked at her nails, ignoring his protest.

"Oh, come on! They were good photos." He defended himself.

"Yeah, but not enough words. I added a few more slides giving us more to work with."

"I had fifteen slides!"

"And now we're at twenty five." She smiled when he saw him recoil.

"And this will guarantee us that 'A'?" He squinted at her.

"Definitely!" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine. As long as we get that 'A' I'm all for it."

"So, what do you think of this dress?" She stood up and took a few steps back and twirled. Her pink dress with white stripes twirled with her body. The dress hung on two straps over her shoulders, one pink and one white.

"It looks good on you. I like that color." Geiney answered honestly.

"Yeah, all I need is a guy to go out with, you know? Someone special to me." She hinted as she looked dead at him, or rather his image on the screen, intently.

"I'm sure there's a guy out there that'll sweep you off your feet. You just gotta look." He shrugged, the suggestion going completely over his head. Alice's smile faltered.

"You really think I can find someone handsome, daring, and not afraid to be himself?" She continued with her blatant reference to her dull caller.

"Definitely! I know you'll find that guy sometime, somewhere, and you'll have a very special connection."

"Nevermind." She sighed in defeat.

"What? I was serious. Some guy out there," He gestured to the outside world, "is sure to love you and that dress."

Alice felt a pang of anger start to boil inside her. Was he actually this thickheaded? She kept herself composed and decided to take things a different direction.

"So who are you eyeing?"

"What do you mean?"

She smirked, "You know? Who do you have a crush on? I know it's not Alex."

Geiney shuddered, remembering that Alex was actually a shapeshifter who tried to kill him and his sisters. He could still feel the knife slice his skin.

"Yeah, anyone else but Alex!"

"Well, anyone you know?" She stressed, her voice growing slightly higher and her tone a bit more suggestive.

He made a face of disgust, "Please! Half the girls I know smash anyone that's nice to them and the other half I don't feel a connection."

She looked away, feeling anger again. "Where do I fit in?" She pressed looking back at his image.

Geiney thought for a moment, "I like you as my best friend." Geiney didn't want to say the real reason behind his refusal to acknowledge her advances. The memories of Brandon still haunted him and his sisters. Because of his powers, he was terrified of the prospect of losing her.

She recoiled but Geiney didn't catch it as a noise downstairs caught his attention. Did she just get friend zoned? Or maybe she got rejected? What was this feeling inside her?

"I think that might be my sisters. Can I chat with you later?"

"Uh, yeah that's fine." She smiled and waved goodbye before she disconnected the video call. As soon as she closed their web communication program she screamed.

"How do you not see it!?" She grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it letting all her frustration out.

Why was the only boy she ever liked so thickheaded? Was it possible to be that thickheaded? She shook her head no. It had to be something else. She thought to herself and wondered why they haven't been going out as a couple. She has been hinting since freshman year. Maybe he was gay? Alice gasped, but then shook her head no. Not possible. Geiney hadn't really been the type of person to like guys or play for that team... Right?

Alice sighed, her head starting to hurt, so she hugged her pillow. "Geiney," She sighed heavily and cuddled herself into the pillow further, "How do you not see it?" She asked herself again.

Luke was sitting in the small abandoned kitchen of his home. His dad was bedridden, smoking his life away. His mom; out and about with some man he detested. All Luke had was Charlie, Geiney, and unexplained feelings for a beauty at his school he'd never have the courage to talk to. He had games, books, online friends, perhaps... But nothing substantial in his real, physical world.

"And Geiney..." Luke whispered to himself, holding a picture that he had been in with Geiney and Charlie in the yearbook for their freshman year. Alex's disappearance, his controlling tightly wound sisters, his missing parents... It all weighed greatly on his mind. Why didn't Geiney trust him? Was it his fault? Was he... insufficient as a person?

Shaking his head, Luke opened the refrigerator door and found no food inside. Just an entire shelf inside for cooled tobacco products (which he never understood) and a box of soda. Out of food again...?

Closing the door, he looked out the window. Ever since the loss of his dog, Luke had become more and more of an inside person, not leaving his house except to attend school. He had been at school when she passed; didn't even get to see her before her burial.

Sighing, Luke trudged to his room. As he sat on the bed, a plan came to mind. He could do the unthinkable. Break into the Cuentas household... If he took an item from Geiney and forced him to visit, Geiney would see how desperately Luke needed him in this time of struggle. And maybe he could force answers out of him. Yeah, that sounds good.

Silas's' eyes caught the large white object. He didn't know what it was only that it looked... majestic? He slowly walked around it, eyeing it carefully. The color was bright, something he wasn't used to seeing. He was almost certain the object had what he thought were glass panes. He wasn't sure however, since the only glass he knew was colored. He hesitated in touching the object but when he finally did, it felt cool, smooth. He ran his hand across the white colored part of the object. He stopped and jerked back when he saw his own reflection. He knew it was his reflection because he remembered what he looked like. He needed a shave.

He still didn't know what the object was but he noticed something like a wheel at the bottom of the object. It had four of them. Was this a type of chariot? But how would one get in? It didn't look like it was accessible to anyone. Looking around he saw many similar looking objects in different colors. What was this mysterious object? He looked at himself in his reflection again and grunted pitifully when he saw his clothing.

Raviel insisted that he wear such clothing if he wanted to visit the mortal realm seeing as times and clothing style has changed. And Silas agreed, now seeing what other people wore. He was currently dressed in jeans and a plain silver shirt with sneakers. He rather disapproved of his clothes. He would rather wear what he was wearing before, his under tunic and undergarment complete with his red cloak.

"Can I help you, sir?" Silas turned around to see a man with a suitcase and an eyebrow risen. Probably wondering why he was eyeing the contraction.

"I was just admiring—" He didn't know what it was, "It. I was just admiring it, sir."

"Yeah, it is a very nice car. I just got a promotion so I could afford it." The man shrugged and glanced at the watch on his wrist, "I'm going to be late, excuse me." The man pulled something out of his pocket and pinched it, making Silas jump at the quick honk the car made. The man opened the door and sat himself in. The car roared to life making Silas stand back, almost summoning a fireball in shock. The car backed itself up and continued forward.

It was amazing. Silas couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open. It didn't need horses to move; it moved all by itself! Silas watched until the car disappeared. He didn't know where he was but he saw many cars stationed by themselves. He roamed about until he heard another car come. He tried to find the source but couldn't find it until he heard some loud people.

"Ailyn! You couldn't have orbed us? This is the third level of the parking garage!" A woman complained. He casually walked trying to find the source.

"I don't want to get in trouble with the Elders again." Replied a second voice.

"Elders?" He frowned. That sounded familiar…

"Oh, yeah right. You owe me five bucks for the parking. And what do you mean you listen to the Elders? You orb us whenever we want to!" The woman defended her own point. Silas saw the two women walk up to a metal wall and reach out for something. He heard a ding and the metal wall opened and allowed them in. He looked up at the sign that was above the weird contraption. Elevator.

"So they were the witches? They don't look like witches." He drew a long sigh; this was a different time, something he was not used to. He almost felt a bit intimidated at the way the world changed; everything was unfamiliar. Women were more open, witches seemed to be more closed than they ever were, and now there were carriages without horses. This time was strange…

He didn't want to go into the contraption, but it looks like he had no choice. If he needed, he could always shimmer out of there… He took a slow deep breath and prepared himself to go into the elevator.

Sara's eyes scanned her computer screen, her mouse just flashing through the screen at the incredible speed she worked under. She was entirely focused now that Troy, her boss for her division, gave her some time alone. She much preferred it that way anyways. She loved Troy to death, but sometimes he just got to be too much and she didn't like working in a frustrating mood.

Her mind processed the information faster than she was currently working. She didn't know how long she was in overdrive mode, but it seemed to be working. She was almost finished with the commercial. She was currently playing around with various effects from a visible twinkle of an eye to some leaves fluttering above the model. As she worked, her mind tried to think of how each scene was supposed to look like and how she could make it better.

A sudden ring of the phone jolted her into a yelp, her heart rate accelerating until she realized it was the phone. With an annoyed tone, she picked up the phone.

"Cinematography. This is Sara speaking."

"Sara, it's Eva." Sara rolled her eyes; she could hear the fake happiness in Eva's voice.

"Yes, Eva. What is it?"

"Your darling, enchanting sisters are here to see you. I wasn't sure if you were in so I thought I'd give you a quick call." She gave a small chuckle so fake she was sure Eva could flunk acting school.

"Yes, please send them in."She smiled and hung up.

"At least I can see my darling—Sisters?" She glanced at the phone wondering if she heard right. She saved her work on the computer and closed down her editing program. As soon as the program closed, she watched the door open and in stepped in her sister and guardian angel.

"I'm telling you, the lady is up to no good." Ailyn said.

"How are you so sure?" Ailyn raised her eyebrows at Luz, "Okay, besides that fake laugh."

"What are you two talking about?" Sara asked.

"Were talking about that woman who called you up a minute ago. I say she's up to no good." Sara smiled. Ailyn was on point with that statement.

"So who is that woman?" Sara asked.

"She is Eva Scott. Someone everyone should be warned about. She steps on the backs of others to get ahead."

Sara gave Ailyn a raised eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"What? I've lived almost a hundred years now; you'd think I'd be good at reading people especially as a Whitelighter."

"Not that I'm not happy to see you both here, but why are you here?" Sara said as she sat down at her desk again.

"Well, we thought we'd pick you up. I'm up for going out to dinner tonight and you've been coming home late in the evenings so we thought we could give you a break." Sara immediately agreed much to the relief of the other two women.

"No! Alphie, stop! I don't care! You broke my heart and I'm not going to pick up the pieces. You and your petty boyfriend can go—" A male voice was heard and Sara recognized it immediately as her boss, Troy. The poor guy seemed to be in an angry fit as she heard his fists slam against his desk several times.

"Let's go!" Sara stood up rapidly, cutting whatever conversation they were listening to short. Last week Troy had gone on for two hours about his ex boyfriend, Alphie. She knew if they stuck around Troy would tell them his personal life and she would rather not spend any more time listening to his personal drama. She would rather go out to dinner then hang around.

Confused but not questioning her, they followed Sara out to the lobby of the Seventh floor known to her work as the presidency.

When they stopped in the lobby, Sara answered their question. "That was Troy, my boss for the cinematography branch. Remember that boyfriend that broke up with him? Well that was Troy, arguing over the phone with him."

"Oh, is that the man that sounds like a cat when he sobs?" Luz asked.

"That's the one." The three women laughed.

The whole building shook, causing everyone to gasp and instinctively hold one another. Murmurs filled the seventh floor as people began leaving their offices.

"The elevator!" Someone pointed to the panel where blinking red lights flashed. Someone walked up and pushed the buttons but no response came.

The three women noticed that every console on the elevator blinked with red lights. The room began to fill with people, most of them conversing about what they had just experienced.

Sara looked around, "Where's Jack?"

"Jack's downstairs, Sara." Daisy spoke with her strong British accent.

"Did he use the elevator?"

"Not recently, but I could've sworn someone was using the elevator when it malfunctioned.

"Oh, no…" Sara stared at the elevator as she watched an authorized technician force open the doors with a crowbar. Everyone watched, some in silence, while others watched with bated breath. No one dared move from their spot. The technician peered his head in between the two doors. He looked around, then up, and finally down.

"The elevator crashed to the basement floor!" He cried. Immediately the floor erupted into perturbed commotion. The technician began shouting orders into his hand held transceiver.

"You don't think Jack was in the elevator, do you?" Daisy asked, worry clear in her voice.

"I don't know… that man uses the elevator so frequently, he could have." Daisy, gasped and looked at the elevator.

Sara stepped back to Luz and Ailyn and beckoned them towards a nearby hallway.

"Ailyn, you can sense anyone living or dead, right?"

Ailyn nodded, "Yeah, they both give off a different energy. Why?"

"Can you tell if there is anyone in the elevator?" Ailyn nodded and closed her eyes. She breathed slowly for a moment before she reopened her eyes.

"There's no one in the elevator. Not living nor dead. It's empty." Sara frowned and glanced back at the elevator.

"Daisy swore she saw the elevator come up."

"But that doesn't mean there had to be someone inside. It could just be that the elevator was called to a floor." Luz reminded her sister.

"I guess…" Ailyn tapped Sara on the shoulder.

"Sara." A familiar voice spoke; it was the president of the company, Jack.

"Jack!" She ran up to him and shook his hand. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" He questioned her behavior.

"I thought you were in the elevator when it collapsed."

He nodded, "I called the elevator but after I pressed it there was this high pitched whine and then the whole building shook. I took the stairs. Was there anyone in the elevators?"

"I was worried you were hurt or killed, Jack! I don't know if someone else was in there, either!"

He nodded, believing her, "I'll get on my radio and contact the technicians in the building to fix it posthaste. In the meantime I'll announce no one is to use the elevators until I know that they are safe."

Sara bid him farewell, now with peace of mind. She walked back to her sisters and repeated what he had said.

"Come on, we should use the stairs. No use worrying about it now. No one was in the elevator and no one seems to have been hurt." Ailyn told her.

"What is this magic?" Silas gasped as he turned his head around the corner. He didn't like the elevator. It moved and Silas, in unfamiliar territory, attacked the console and threw fireballs in every direction, eventually causing the elevator to fall down. Silas shimmered out of the elevator just in time.

"The elevator has fallen down through basement level 3!" A man cried who was holding something next to his ear. Whatever it was, it had a voice and was talking to the man holding the strange device. The man talked into it and Silas marveled at the new ideas and items people seemed to use. He heard a door nearby open and out stepped three women. He knew who they were without even conversing with them. They had that aura around them, especially the woman to the right.

Ailyn locked eyes with the strange man, and it was as if she was hit with a torrent of air. Her senses dulled to the point where she could no longer see anything but this man. The man smiled at her but did nothing else. She didn't know if she stopped walking or not, but those eyes seemed to lure her in. His eyes represented two azure gems and that mischievous smile on his face alerted her to his thoughts. She didn't know how long she had been standing in the elevator but it was Luz who shook her from her trance.

"Are the Elders calling you, Ailyn?" Luz asked. Like a deer in the headlights Ailyn hesitated, not knowing how to respond.

"Oh, not at all." Ailyn responded, trying to compose herself.

"What did you see?" Luz raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing." She spoke her voice breaking.

Sara smirked, "Was it that man we saw leaning on the wall?"

Ailyn whipped her head towards Sara with a gasp and a staredown.

"You know he was eyeing you. I think Ailyn has a crush on that guy!"

"No I don't! We just caught each other's eyes, that's all." The girls giggled, "I mean he caught my attention!" Ailyn blushed and looked away, the teasing poking at her mentally.

"Can we just get a move on? I want lunch already." She hurried out of the elevator when the doors opened, leaving the two giggling sisters to whisper their own conclusions.

Silas stood some time later outside the mechanic's garage. It seemed that Yuriel had done his part and he watched his current target. Officer Robert looked rather perplexed, a sight that made Silas smile. It was as if he were watching one of his pranks on someone. He took one step forward, then stopped when someone stood next to Officer Robert to speak with him.

"So, Coroner. Have you seen anything like this?" He gestured towards the victim; all that was left of him was just the burned body, brittle to the touch.

The man nodded, "Usually people trapped in house fires. Nothing like this though." He made a gesture to the garage.

The detective looked around. He noticed burner tanks and blow torches, but nothing seemed to match up with the way the body was burned.

"Maybe the body was moved. Those tanks are full, and none are out of place. None of the welding tools have been used recently. And the body looks like it was trapped in a box filled with flame. This just doesn't add up." He rubbed his forehead, trying to think of a solution. So far the only solution he could think of was the body was moved. He frowned as he thought on that theory. If the body was moved after the man was burned then it would make sense to dump it in a different location. But then why did they receive a call from that exact location down to the garage number?

To prove his point he tried to pick up the body; each and every time the body only gave way as if he were made of sand. He shook his head no. The body couldn't have been moved because if it did then the body would be ash all over the place. Silas thought it was his turn to make a move. He made his way to Robert.

"Officer Robert, right?" Robert turned around, his chubby face studying the man that had addressed him.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

Silas smiled, "The question is how may I help you? I couldn't help but notice that you were having trouble so I decided to give you some help. You see, I have a hunch of sorts that might be able to help you during your investigation."

Officer Robert glowered at the man. "What nonsense is this? A hunch? You have a hunch that's going to solve this crime? Who are you?"

"Ah, but there it is again. You, my fat friend, are asking all the wrong questions. But I can help you get right on the correct track," Robert's scowl deepened, "Okay. That isn't helping you, my friend. Here's a hint. One of your dear child friends is in danger, someone you value quite a bit, and someone whom you've seen grow up. He is in danger, or should be right about now?"

Robert's hand inched its way to his holster where his Glock 19 was kept.

"You never answered my question. Who are you?" Silas only smiled wider, "Answer me. Who are you?"

"Tick-tock Robert. He is in danger and his sisters are nowhere to be found."

Robert withdrew his gun and in a flash aimed at the man, but found he was not aiming at a person. He looked around; it seemed that no one was paying attention to him. Unsettled, he put his gun away and thought of the man, or whatever that was, and his words. He couldn't have just imagined this man… or could he? His thoughts echoed in his mind.

Who was a child friend? He thought on his life. He had no wife, let alone girlfriend. He didn't really associate himself with other people. The only people he knew were the Johnson's, his neighbor next door, The Elliot's, his childhood friend, The Cuentas, and the families of his fellow officers. The only people with children that he actually knew of are the Elliots, the Cuentas, and some of his co workers.

But someone he valued? He loved all children really, but someone whom he valued personally? His mind worked for the answer. The Cuentas family had Geiney and three of his co workers had children that he also valued. His blood ran suddenly cold as the man's voice ran in his head, _"He is in danger and his sisters are nowhere to be found"_. That was Geiney!

He looked around frantically. Geiney was in danger and there was no way he'd be able to get ahold of his sisters. His mind worked faster, trying to think of a solution. There was none. For once Robert did something he thought he couldn't do, and without skipping a beat ran towards his squad car and abandoned his post.

Silas had shimmered outside the Cuentas family household looking rather pleased with himself. If only he didn't have to go through with their plan, he would have loved to play with the officer for just a little bit longer. Now, to summon Jeremy.

He raised his arms to the sky and the moonlight illuminated his entire body. The earth broke apart and a hand stretched out. Silas smiled and grabbed it. He pulled with all the strength he had and out crawled Jeremy.

"You must be Jeremy. Welcome back to the world of the living."

Jeremy only seemed confused as to why he was back and not in the suffering pit of hell to be devoured by some giant beast… the things he wished he could unsee.

"What is this?" He asked his liberator.

"Just a second chance, is all." Silas explained. Jeremy looked skeptical about it, "Just a second chance at attacking the Diamond Ones. You're in luck, because the little boy is all alone in the house. Makes your job that much easier." He patted Jeremy on the shoulder and left him to his own devices.

Jeremy watched as Silas walked away and shimmed out a short distance away. He looked back at the Cuentas household and glared at the place where his own demise had happened. He looked at himself, at his remade clothes, and then he felt deep inside himself where his powers laid. Everything was as it was last time. He smiled evilly. Killing a child should be easier than killing three witches and a Whitelighter. He pulled the cloak up over his head and watched his surroundings. It was time to take care of some unfinished business…

The crystal moved on its own again. Joshua stared at it and found that the crystal lay in the same house as the last two vanquishings. They always said three times a charm, except this time that was an omen. No one should be getting attacked by demons this frequently. He didn't know who lived in that house; only that they were in some danger.

He opened a small pocket book and turned it to a particular page. In the past two weeks that same house has been attacked but every time their crystal reacts to it, the demon is vanquished. He circled the word, Witches? and drew a star next to it, confirming that there were witches residing in that house.

He stood up and grabbed his wallet; the only thing he actually carried around. He found his wife laying down on one of the couches, a photo of their children from long ago lay on the floor. His heart felt a pang of sadness. She must have fallen asleep crying again.

"Mia. Mia, wake up. There's trouble." He gently shook her awake. He called her name a couple more times and waited for her to acknowledge him before doing anything else.

"What's going on?" She asked as she sat up, rubbing the sleep off her eyes.

"That house we kept watch on is being attacked by demons again."

Mia frowned, "So could it be a witch's house? Only witches would get attacked this frequently by demons." She hypothesized.

"It seems like it. But we best get ourselves ready in case they aren't witches but innocents."

"I doubt innocents are lucky enough to vanquish two demon attacks in a row, let alone their third one." She joked.

"Still, better safe than sorry."

She nodded and grabbed the only things she needed; an ID photo and a few knives tucked away around her waist. They raced out into their car and began driving in that direction.

"How do you think we should proceed?" She asked; he only stared ahead at the road in front of him.

"We should be careful. We don't know what we're up against yet. But when we do, we should capture and interrogate the attacker. They might know where our children are at." Joshua outlined his plan carefully.

She listened to his words, absorbing them into her mind. Over the years they had managed to capture and even torture demons to find out where their children lay. No one seemed to know if they were dead or alive. Josh and Mia assumed the latter, and with the hope of one day being reunited they continued their search.

Silas shimmered outside a restaurant and watched as three women walked out, talking with each other. Silas changed his appearance to that of an old man. He walked up to them and greeted them kindly.

"Good evening, ladies. I was wondering if you had a moment of your time I could steal from you."

"Yes, what is it sir?" Luz asked, greeting the man.

"I regret to inform you, but you do not have much time left. I believe a child of yours is in danger. You must return to your household, lest something happen to said child." The old man smiled. The smiles of the women faltered.

"Who are you?" Asked Sara.

"Just a messenger." He bolted through the three women and ran full speed through the alleyway. When he was far enough, he shimmered out of the alleyway.

"What the hell was that?" Ailyn asked as she helped her friends back on their feet.

"More importantly, I think Geiney is in danger." Luz said.

"How can you be so sure?" Sara asked.

"I don't know any other children besides Geiney. I think he was trying to pass on a message."

"But how can you trust that man, or demon, or whatever that thing was?" Ailyn pressed.

"Did you get any reading off of him?" Luz turned to Ailyn.

"No, my senses didn't pick up anything demonic from him."

"Well, whatever it was might be telling the truth. Let's orb back to the house." Luz ordered. "I just hope this isn't a trap of some sort.

"The three women entered the mouth of the alleyway and when they found themselves safe from prying eyes, orbed out and back into their household.

Geiney trotted down the stairs, "Hey, what did you bring me to eat?" He turned the corner to the kitchen where he stopped short. His heart began to beat rapidly in his chest.

"Hello, little bitch." Jeremy turned around, brandishing one of their kitchen knives in front of him. Geiney took a step back, not believing who he was seeing just a few paces away from him.

"Je-Jeremy?"

"Surprised?" Jeremy took a step forward, eyeing Geiney up and down.

"How did you—We vanquished you!" Another step back Geiney took.

"I was given a second chance to correct my mistake. This time your pathetic sisters won't interfere. It's just you and me." He took another step forward to close the distance. They were only a yard away from each other. Jeremy lunged, and at the last second, Geiney tucked and rolled toward the side of his opponent. The knife barely missed him as he righted himself back to a standing position. Geiney threw three Wind balls at Jeremy, all hitting him in the torso.

Jeremy slashed at Geiney but he missed, and Geiney stepped forward; remembering his training, he blocked Jeremy's second slash attack. Geiney underestimated his strength and used both hands to stop Jeremy from pushing the knife into his body. Geiney felt himself losing ground as the knife slowly made its way toward his neck. In a panic he slid his foot to one side and shifted his mass to that side, causing Jeremy to lose balance and slip forward. He tripped over Geiney's foot and landed face first into the ground. Geiney ran to the counter and picked up another kitchen knife and ran towards the living room.

"Quick, think. What was the spell we used to vanquish him? Isis, Hecate, Demeter, In Narnia?" He rolled his eyes, as if that was the worst answer he could give himself. His ragged breathing wasn't helping him calm down.

"Where are you?" Roared Jeremy's voice. He saw Jeremy come from one end of the living room.

"Crap!" He exited the living room using another exit and allowed Jeremy to chase him. He used his knowledge of their house to his advantage and ran around the stairway once, losing Jeremy for the moment and giving him a quick minute to think. He ran back down the hall where the front door was.

Geiney stopped short, if he couldn't remember the spell then he could make up one. It was a simple vanquishing spell and from what he learned from the Book of Shadows, he could think of a spell. There were many sorts of offensive spells; vocal, chants, potions, and weapon blessings. Geiney stared at the knife in his hands. He could do weapon blessing. They were simple and the only thing he would need was to concentrate.

"There you are!" Spoke his adversary. Geiney eyed the man; his clothes were remade as if they had never vanquished him.

"You're not escaping me again, boy!" Jeremy inched closer to Geiney.

Geiney only had one option, but he had to disarm Jeremy or weaken him first. He ran towards the living room and took cover next to the bookcase. Jeremy stooped inside and began looking for Geiney. He failed to see Geiney next to the bookcase and was stabbed in the ribs. Geiney ran towards the exit. Jeremy saw him quickly and summoned a fireball in his hand. Geiney reached the exit, turned and threw a hand up expecting an attack. He blocked it but the force caused him to be thrown into the wall behind him. He coughed and stood up, racing towards the door. He turned around the same time Jeremy rounded the corner. Geiney threw four Wind balls to give himself a moment, and as expected Jeremy hid behind the wall.

Everything seemed to happen so slowly at this point. Geiney heard the rattling of the door behind him; thinking it was his sisters he took a deep breath in. He traced two fingers on the hilt of the blade and ran them towards the tip, "Goddess Isis, I summon you through the power of the Diamond! Bless this blade." The door behind him was kicked open but he continued to focus everything he had on his current task, "Allow me to vanquish demons with your power!"

"Freeze!" Called a familiar voice that Geiney could not place; he raised the blade as Jeremy came back to view with a fireball in his hand.

"Geiney!" Cried his sisters from somewhere nearby.

The blade glowed white, "Look out, Child!?" He heard someone unfamiliar shout out. Geiney threw the blade, his eyes following the path of the blade as Jeremy threw his own fireball the moment Geiney threw his arm, "What the-!?" Shouted the familiar voice of a man.

As if in slow motion, Geiney watched the blade enter the fireball, implode on itself, and launch the knife straight into Jeremy's empty heart. Jeremy roared in agony and exploded into pieces, Geiney covered his eyes as he felt a gust of warm air hit him. Multiple people gasped or grunted and when Geiney opened his eyes he screamed in victory.

"Take that, Jeremy! You ass!" Geiney fist pumped the air, unaware of his surroundings.

"Geiney?" He turned to the direction of his sisters, His eyes growing wide in panic with his fist still up in the air. There he saw Sara, Luz, and Ailyn staring at him in bewilderment. Their eyes traveled to the man behind Geiney.

"Officer Robert." Luz gasped, Geiney turned around and saw his family friend, Officer Robert, gun drawn and at the ready, pointing to an empty spot on the floor as he stared at the spot where Jeremy stood. He turned to the direction of the three women, not knowing what to say. He stuttered and gasped when a couple approached, not knowing if to aim the gun at the strange couple or not.

"Luz, Sara… Geiney?" The woman, unfamiliar to Geiney, asked as if in a daze.

"Mom, Dad?" Luz asked. Geiney gasped and whipped his head to see his supposed parents staring at them all.

"You all have some explaining to do!" Demanded Officer Robert who continued to hold his gun at the ready, eyeing each person carefully…

"Oops…" That was all Geiney could muster. Just what was he supposed to do now?

Author's Note: RobertHawkinz is the name of the account for my co-author. Check out his stories as well! u/4887518/RobertHawkinz


	9. Mighty Colorful Power Sorcerers

Lea runs his finger around the glass as he listens to Charlie's detailing of events that led Luke to such a dark time in his life.

"And you think getting a girlfriend is in his best interest?" Lea teased Charlie, taunting his decision making skills, "Cure him of his loneliness?"

"In a way, yeah," Charlie replied earnestly, "Once you arrived, I figured your master love skills could pull a victory for us."

Lea grinned back at him, "I'll help you for a price."

Charlie gulped, "What is it? Money?"

"No, no... That friend of yours... Geiney, is it? He intrigues me," Lea sips from his glass the black tea he had made himself, "Alex for starters. But he also carries this... aura about him."

"You think?" Charlie shrugged, not getting what Lea could be implying, "So you want me to introduce you guys?"

Lea smirked back at his new ally, 'That would be quite delectable," Smiling widely with a cheerful expression, Lea continued, "Now what is it about Ruby you wish to ask about? I know some things here and there about her, but you'd have a much easier time setting up my sis with the guy."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "She's the outdoorsy exercise type, right? Luke isn't much for tha-" Realizing he just name dropped his friend, Charlie cursed to himself under his breath, "Hey, forget I said anything, okay?"

"Much too late for that, my friend," Lea keeps the same smile on his lips, casually assessing the situation, "Ruby is quite physically inclined as well. Luke may want to adapt in either scenario."

"And what d-do you want with Geiney, huh?" Wanting to make up for his error, Charlie decided to push Lea back.

Lea placed his glass on the lunch table between them, "I will say that I am interested in him. Not necessarily romantically, if you intend to imply such things."

Charlie clicks his tongue, "That so? You're no stranger to me, Lea Inu. While Ruby is an enigma, you've been solved by our mutual acquaintances."

"Whatever they've told you is not true, or at least the full story. They don't know how... catty I can be," Lea swipes his hand at Charlie to amuse himself.

"What did I get myself into, exactly?" With a heavy sigh, Charlie accepts that he has indeed made a deal with what one might call a devil in his own right.

A girl walking through the school doesn't pay much attention to her surroundings as she opened the large double doors to the field, the sun beginning to set in the horizon. She was by all standards cute, a girl of average height, wavy brown hair that touched her shoulders, deep green eyes, a tight but not toned body and a hazy look in her eyes.

"Shera, what's up!?" Sherry immediately knocked her companion to the ground with a powerful jump and grab.

Ruby approached them from behind, shaking her head, "Displays of affection on school grounds are not permissible."

"Who died and made you student council president?" Sherry shot back at her friend with a smile, showing off her fangs once more.

Shera groaned under Sherry's weight, "You're too big... All this muscle hurts, you know. The wind gets ripped out from my lungs."

"Don't be so dramatic, sis," A guy appears from behind them, "I've certainly hit you harder."

The newcomer, a smirking quarterback who towers over the other girls with his cleft chin, bright blue eyes, wide smile, and uniform covered in grass stains, helped up Shera, who pushed him away once she could move her legs herself.

Sherry sighed, "Not a way to phrase that at all. Martial arts training doesn't have to sound like sibling abuse."

The guy laughed it off, "If you saw how she fights, it has to classify as that."

"Cain, what are you doing here?" Shera asked him with an angry tone, clearly displeased by his presence.

"Am I not allowed to haze my little sister and her friends?" Cain ruffled her hair forcefully, "That's like, the only perk of being a big brother."

Ruby growled at him under her breath, "Consider your perk removed. Get out of my sight."

Cain trampled the dirt underneath him as he approached the fearless girl, "Or what? Is the new girl going to talk back to the school all-star?"

"I'll do more than talk back, you ignoramus," With a quick grab, Ruby effortlessly flipped the cocky jock over her shoulder, crushing him against the ground.

As the scene played out with the girls leaving him behind, Charlie shaked his head in disapproval, "Okay, Luke's into that? Can this guy pick a normal girl to fall for?"

Lea chuckled, "Awe, that's no fun! Exciting dates make for exciting mates!"

"...What am I going to do with you?" Charlie asked in an exasperated tone.

"With me or to me?" Lea lingered on that line as he reveled in Charlie's confused and then concerned facial expressions.

Luke contemplated his plan over the day as he fed his painfully stupid orange cat and his resting bitch face Calico that, for all intents and purposes, would be Charlie's if his mom would allow it.

Stealing from Geiney could be bad; real bad. However, the growing rift between them hurt him innumerably more than anything else could. He'd been taking walks in the hopes of building up his strength and stamina to train with Geiney as he so often claimed he and his sisters were doing.

With great reluctance, he called Charlie. Charlie answered after a couple of rings, "Yeah?"

"A lacking greeting, huh?" Luke pointed out the obvious.

"I just had a trying time, okay? What is it?" Charlie cut straight to the point on this one.

Luke asked, "I have an idea to get Geiney to pay attention to us. Want to try it out the next time he's out?"

Charlie asked in a worried tone, "What are you doing?"

"A plan to get him to be around us again, that's all," Luke answered confidently. "I trust you have no problems with this."

"I... I guess not," Charlie thought about it for a few moments, "What are we doing?"

Luke smiled to himself, "A B and E."

Luz, Sara and Ailyn sat on the Couch together, facing the direction of the loveseat where their parents sat. No one spoke a word, no hospitalities were offered besides a seat on the couches. No one dared look at each other in the eyes. Ailyn was the only one who watched everyone, gauging their reactions. This was not the way she intended to meet Josh and Mia. How they found them, she didn't know. But she didn't even know what to say.

What could you say? Welcome back, my former employer? It's good to see you two again. How's the family business? I'm the one who shielded your kids from you. Your children are demon slaying machines thanks to you. No, this was not how she would've liked to have met her former employer. She sighed. She gave a quick glance around. No one still said a word. The awkward silence began feeling too heavy for her. If no one else was going to speak she might as well speak her mind.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ailyn opened her mouth but was surprised to find that it wasn't her voice speaking. It was Sara. She held a deep intensity in her eyes.

Mia cleared her throat, "We came to find you."

"Find us?" Luz laughed and looked away. Another moment of awkward silence followed before she turned back to her parents. "Why did you come looking for us? We didn't want to be found."

Mia flinched and Ailyn snapped her heard towards Luz. She knew how Luz had felt about her parents, but for her to speak her mind to her parents was almost frightening.

"Sweetie, we—" Josh began but a cold glare from Sara stopped him in his tracks. He too cleared his throat and decided to start over, "Sara, Luz," Both sisters, too, turned their attention to their father, "We came because we needed to find you. Because we realized our children were afraid of us. We came because we didn't want to believe any of you died."

The girls turned away; they thought they wouldn't be affected by the words of their parents, but after so long, they almost believed their parents wouldn't come looking for them. If they ever had, it was to pick up their broken weapons; to try and 'fix' them. Luz turned back to her parents with some choice words.

"As you can see we're fine. We don't need you anymore," She snarled, her face belying the complicated feelings swirling in her head, "We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. We have no need of babysitters or sergeants. None of us are returning to your stupid training grounds of a manor or school or whatever the hell you used to call it." Luz crossed her arms, looking at the two older adults with disgust.

"The manor has been destroyed." Mia said.

The girls actually turned back to their mother, surprised. While they hated that school, they knew that the school was near impenetrable.

"Well, I'm sorry the manor's destroyed. I still don't see why you're here." Sara replied, unsympathetic to the situation.

"Because we forced our children to hate us…" Josh replied after a moment of silence.

"Fourteen years without our children made us realize how selfish we became. We found your diary shortly after you left." Mia turned to Sara who only looked away. She remembered that diary well. Inside, she wrote that she was defending her sister against two monsters, their mom and dad. Every night she would write about a spell she cast on themselves so that the monsters wouldn't hurt them. These monsters would summon demons to attack them and she would have to help her sister fight against them. She remembered it well.

"You called us the monsters who summoned demons to get you." Josh said.

Mia sniffled, "If we had known how bad we were scaring you, we wouldn't have done this to you. My god, we were the worst parents in the world. We... are so sorry." She could feel her strength fading. The sisters looked at each other, not knowing how to proceed.

Ailyn stepped up, "Mia, Josh... I'm sorry to ask at such a tense moment, but it needs asking. What could have destroyed the manor?"

"A band of demons who call themselves Demon Fists of Distant Hells." Ailyn flinched and Josh noticed it. "They attacked during a full lunar eclipse using weapons. But with all magic down for that short time, we had to defend against them with our weapons. We had just enough time to hold our positions before our students fled. We were only fifty against what appeared to be a couple hundred demons. Many were slaughtered, but they pushed us against a wall. After the eclipse, all our defenses, protections, traps, everything just ceased to function. Mia and myself cast one last spell with the Diamond of our ancestors. It somehow broke the crystal, but it wiped out the remaining attackers. But, by the time the spell finished... Our manor, our work, and our school was destroyed."

"We fled shortly after, lost and confused. With nothing left, we decided to look for the only thing we had that remained. That wasn't destroyed. Our children." Mia narrated for her husband.

Continuing on from where Mia left off, Josh continued, "We spent another ten years looking for you outside the manor. We found out you were here in California, so we came to find you. It was an uphill battle. But then last month, your cloak was lifted and we found you here nearby. It wasn't until today that we realized whose house this was." She lightly chuckled as she continued staring at her wonderful, sweet daughters. Her little girls who had somehow grown into beautiful women. "Who knew that our destinies would be to meet tonight?"

No one said a thing. Neither Luz or Sara shed a tear for their parents.

Luz was the first to speak, "Why did you make us go through all that training?"

"We thought it would make you stronger. We can see now that we were wrong." Josh tried to reason out it to them both.

Sara's voice broke, "Why… why did we have to go through with that?"

A moment of silence passed between them, Ailyn looked away, struggling to remain calm. Josh was unsure if he should continue. But the cold glare Sara was giving him meant that she wanted her answers. He sighed, "Because you three were supposed to become a triangle. A force not to be reckoned with. The triangle for witches means a strong unity, one that is hard to destroy. Just like a stool that has three legs, and can support a lot of weight, so does the triangle."

"So you never wanted children; you just wanted a weapon!" Sara retorted.

Mia's eyes watered. Josh looked away. They couldn't bear to look at their children anymore. But they couldn't blame their children either. Yes, they wanted a triangle in their family. Yes, they wanted them to be fit as a weapon. And yes, they were overzealous, training their children like the military.

"Yes, that was what we once thought. But, no more. You three mean so much to us. We were desperate to just get one, just ONE chance to see you again!" Mia cried out in apparent pain, "I... had to know you were alright. That, had I died in that manor attack, you would have been... okay..." Mia struggled as she smiled, tears running down her face. A smile Luz couldn't ever remember on her mother's face, like a painting out of place.

Sara yelled, "Why!? Because you care!? Or maybe you just wanted to know your tools worked when applied to a real life situation!"

Noticing her sister's outburst, Luz requested, "Please restrain your feelings, Sara. Nothing will be gained by screaming at them!"

"And bite my tongue for another decade or two!?" Sara lashes out, "You let them do that to us for how long!? You were supposed to be the mature one... So why didn't you speak up before we had to leave if you cared so much!?"

"What could I say!? They never listened to my complaints!" Luz replied in a distressed tone, "And you were stubborn as a kid, too! Something you've yet to grow out of!"

Sara gripped the side of her seat until her knuckles whitened, "What!?"

Luz fell back in her chair, "You choose to do things your own way and never let up, either. Geiney can't even spend time with his friends because of how often we drag him off to train. When did being a witch mean you can't be young? Because if our parents failed to understand that, you've learned nothing of balance, either."

"Girls, please, don't argue!" Mia stole their attention, "Please... If you must detest anyone, hate us. Not each other. If the only good thing..." Mia wipes her tears away, "If all we could give was your siblings... Please, don't fight..."

Sara felt her eyes sting, "You have no right to come into our lives like this!" She jumped up from her chair, "Just when I feel it won't hurt anymore, you tear those wounds fresh!"

Ailyn tried to speak up, "Sara... You..."

"I'm not a machine... I'm not heartless!" Sara turned on Luz, "You think it only hurts you to leave!? That you're the only one clinging to dead relationships!?"

Luz's heart stopped beating in that moment as her eyes flooded and she struggled to remain in the chair, no words coming out.

Sara faced Ailyn, "Why did you even suggest... talking to them!? It only hurts us, Ailyn! Is being a Whitelighter detaching you from how we feel!?"

"Calm yourself, Sara," Ailyn harshly cut her off, "Before you say something you can't undo."

Silence fell over the five as Sara restrained herself from saying more, practically collapsing back into her chair. A few minutes passed as they all regained their composure to some degree.

"Were not asking much. We don't want anything from you; just a second chance at a family is all." Josh spoke softly, breaking the tense silence. None of the girls said anything at all. They mulled it over in their minds, each girl running through a hundred scenarios.

A second chance? Luz thought about it. Could their parents be telling them the truth? After years of thinking of their parents as nothing but monsters, she didn't know how to respond. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be with their parents just yet.

"I don't know… It'll take some time for us to get over what we think of you…" Luz admitted.

Sara didn't say anything. She only had her arms crossed over her chest, not looking at her parents. She looked rather thoughtful, but offered no words to express how she felt.

"That's okay. Take your time… We know forgiving takes time." Josh said.

"Forgiving? I don't know if I can." Sara admitted. This stopped everything that was going on in the room. Again, silence. The ticking of the clock seemed to endlessly tick away while the room seemed to freeze through time.

"Josh, Mia. The girls don't know how to react. All of this is happening at once, it may be best to leave them to think alone for a while." Ailyn put in, trying to dissipate the awkward silence in the air.

"Of course. If you ever want to talk to see us, we will be living under this address." Mia quickly wrote down their address and placed it on the table. Mia stood up, and when no one else stood up, Josh directed them to the front door. Once the door closed, the awkwardness seemed to melt away if only a little.

Meanwhile, in another room in the house, the awkward silence in the room was so thick it could be cut with a butter knife. Or at least that's what Geiney thought. The only thing they could hear besides the deafening silence was the ticking of the clock on the wall and the occasional clinking of a spoon in a cup. After the demonic vanquish, Geiney was forced to explain to Officer Robert who they were after witnessing him kill a demon. God, why him?

Geiney took Robert to the kitchen and made him some of his favorite tea and a cup for himself too. The last thing Robert had said to Geiney was a thank you, and then about five minutes of silence. Or was it an hour? Geiney couldn't tell anymore. He kept trying to talk to Robert but every time he locked eyes with the man, he turned away.

Robert never took his eyes off Geiney. They stared at him as if he were some specimen of sorts. In a way, Robert couldn't tell if Geiney was friend or foe. His heart told him he was while his mind said otherwise. His instincts told him he was dangerous, yet he couldn't think of what to do in this situation.

Geiney took a sip and swore the whole house could hear it. He saw Robert continue to stare with a deadpan expression and he turned away feeling a blush creeping on his cheeks. This was the most awkward it could get. This couldn't get any more awkward if he tried.

"So," Robert croaked, startling Geiney, "How the hell did you make that man disappear?"

Okay, so it's a good start… but why did it have to be him who was answering the questions? Oh yeah, he vanquished a demon in front of Robert… good punishment.

"I vanquished him."

"Vanquished?"

"Yes, when demons die, they are vanquished and sent to a spiritual place where it is believed they are to be reincarnated as humans. Or something like that."

"Uh huh…" Another too long for comfort pause, "What are you?"

"We're uh… um—witches sir. Real life witches."

Robert gave a small chuckle, "If you're a witch, then I'm a unicorn."

"No, if you were a unicorn you probably wouldn't be able to shapeshift into the human form you are. While Unicorns are pure magic, they retain their stallion like form. Only the leader can use its magic offensively to protect its herd and even then they can't shapeshift." His response was immediate, almost as if he were responding in second nature. He took a sip and paused once he saw Robert's eyes wide open like a saucer.

"I mean…" He trailed off, not knowing what to do or say now.

"So these demons, you called them?" Geiney nodded, "What are they? Are they human? What do they want?"

"Demons are agents of the underworld that want to bring chaos and destruction to the world. They too have magic and use it to spread evil everywhere we go. We, as witches, fight to stop this evil from spreading. We have magic to counter theirs and help bring peace to this world."

"And you vanquished this demon because he wanted to spread evil?"

Geiney began to answer, but he thought he noticed a pair of eyes through the kitchen window. Checking again, he didn't see anything.

"Kind of. We already vanquished him once a while ago. His name is Jeremy, and he made it a point to tell us that he wanted to kill us for our powers. He didn't do a good job the first time and even less the second time around."

"Your powers?"

"Oh right. Each one of us has unique powers. Mine is Aerokinesis, means that I can control wind. I can use wind balls offensively and my wind shield protects from me from certain demonic attacks. Luz has Telekinesis; she can move things with her mind. She uses her hands as a guide; otherwise this house is flipped upside down. And trust me I cleaned up that mess last time and it was not fun. Sara has Suggestion, which is like mind control. She can tell you something and you have to do it no matter how ridiculous it is. It comes in handy especially when we need information. More efficient than even truth serum that police use." He realized who he was talking to, "No offence, Robert." He added quickly and looked away taking a long and audible sip.

They didn't say anything else. They sat in somewhat calm, awkward silence. At least it wasn't as awkward as before. Geiney took several sips, until his cup was empty. Now what?

"Are you good or evil?"

"Good, Robert. We fight to protect the innocent. We don't use our powers for our personal gain. That's actually against the rules."

Another silence. Robert looked like he was thinking something over. Geiney didn't like the faces he made. It made his heart race as if he was about to be disowned.

"How can I trust you?"

"Robert. We are the same people you met all those years ago. We aren't two faced. We show you our true selves. I mean, now we show you our true selves, but that's not the point here. My point is... I'm still Geiney and my sisters are still Luz and Sara. The same people you talk to every other day. The only thing that's changed is you now know our family secret."

"What about Ailyn? You haven't talked about her yet."

"Oh yeah! She's our guardian angel. Literally! She's what we call a Whitelighter. They are meant to be guides and messengers for good witches. They help us, teach us, protect us, and heal us. Ailyn has many powers but her main ones are healing, orbing...Er, a fancy name for teleportation. And she can sense us. She can tell if we are in danger or are greatly distressed."

"Now there's a guardian angel?"

"Yep. She's healed me quite a few times. Do you remember when I fell off a tree? Sara said I fell on a bed of leaves we had just raked but I actually broke my leg. Ailyn healed me up in less than a minute. I was back to my old self in seconds!"

Robert groaned, "This is all too much. And no one thought to tell me?"

Geiney shrugged, "How could we? We were afraid of what you would do. Think about it. If my sisters told you they were witches would you have put them in a mental hospital?"

"Well… no."

"I would." That earned him a hard glare from Robert, "I was joking."

"Wait, do demons come after you?"

"Just recently they have been. After Luz lost her boyfriend we were cloaked by the Elders, Ailyn's bosses."

"So I could've been in danger this whole time?"

Geiney shrugged, "I thought you'd be used to it."

"Touché."

"What are you thinking?"

"I don't really know. I guess I just need some time."

Geiney nodded, "It is a lot to take in. But it's really cool to be a witch."

"And why is that?"

"We protect the innocent. Just like you. You protect those who can't protect themselves. And we protect the same people, only on a much bigger scale and of a bigger threat."

Robert thought on it and stayed silent. This time it was a more comfortable silence.

"Thank you."

Geiney was taken aback, "For what?"

"For telling me the truth." Robert stood up, "I must be going. I'll come again sometime soon."

Geiney felt a little put off by his reaction; it was almost emotionless and hard to read. He just hoped that Robert wouldn't tell anyone about their secret. He hoped that Robert understood and wouldn't shun them. Still, his fear lingered, not wanting to go away. But that was normal when you were a witch in the shadows. Right?

"So what were my parents like!?" Geiney asked; he had jumped on the couch and his body was slightly leaned forward. His eyes reflected his starstruck attitude, "Why were they here? What were they doing here? Did they see my vanquish?" He stopped his torrent of questions when Luz called out his name.

"Our parents were different, from the last time we saw them. They somehow changed," Her discouraged attitude went unbeknownst to Geiney who was almost vibrating with unexpected energy, "They were here because they were looking for us. They even gave us an address where they are now."

"Oh, my god! They were looking for us? I can't believe it!" Geiney, in his own world, failed to notice the frowns or disheartened looks his sisters wore.

Sara turned to her sister, and shook her head. They mentioned the grueling tutelage their parents had over the girls and sometimes told stories to Geiney of what it was like at their parent's home. Geiney never understood how their parents were to them. He never got to see them, and therefore his image of his parents were more cordial than his sisters.

"I wanna go see them! Where are they?" Geiney stood up rapidly and Sara stepped in and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Geiney, we're not going to see them." She said softly.

"Why not?" Geiney asked.

"Our parents were here because they thought there were innocent people in this house, and had no idea we were here. They came looking for us yes, but after what they did to us, we don't want to see them."

Geiney looked down at his feet, "But I want to see them." He said dejectedly. Ailyn looked away, as their Whitelighter felt his pain. He admired his parents, especially after hearing stories of some of their adventures, not tainted by the fact that they trained their children to be demon slayers. She turned back to Luz but she too was looking away. She didn't want Geiney to see their parents either.

Or perhaps more accurately, they weren't so sure if he should see their parents. Everything had happened so fast that even she didn't know what to do. But what could she do?

"I think the Tyke should see his parents." Ailyn finally said. Everyone stared at her.

"You can't be serious…" Luz said.

"I am. Look, believe what you want. But your parents came here to sincerely apologize to you two for what they did to you. They're not expecting you guys to become part of their family again this quickly. But you can't shut Geiney out just because you two have anger against your parents."

"So they could take Geiney away from us? Forget it, Ailyn. He's staying here." Luz replied bitterly.

"You can't decide that for me!" The boy argued.

"We can and we have!" Sara retorted, "Ailyn, this is our decision. Not yours. I don't care what they said! They have no right to come back into our lives after that. If you don't like that, then that's too bad. Geiney stays here end of story."

Geiney scoffed audibly and fled to his room.

"That wasn't right, girls." Ailyn spoke after watching Geiney ascend the stairs.

"Then you can leave. We're done here." Sara spoke harshly, surprising Luz and Ailyn. Ailyn rolled her eyes and orbed out with her arms crossed over her breasts.

"No, I'm sorry, Alice. I can't go right now." Geiney spoke over the phone.

"Why not?" She inquired.

"Let's just say something happened and I won't be able to go."

She sighed heavily on the phone and changed her approach, "Fine. Be that way. I wanted to invite you over to hang out, but I guess that's fine if you don't wanna hang out with your friends."

"It's not that. It's just—My parents found us and came to see us."

 _Hello! That is some good gossip!_ Alice sat up straight faster than one could blink. "Your parents? I thought they abandoned you guys. What makes them want to see you all right now?"

"I don't know, I was—" Geiney paused, trying to think of an excuse, "In my room at the time. I never heard them until I went downstairs and saw my parents leaving." It wasn't perfect but it was the only excuse he could think of.

"I see. So what did your parents say?"

"That's the thing. I only knew they were my parents after my sisters told me. I wanted to go see them but they told me I'm not allowed. Can you believe it? What makes them think they can stop me from wanting to meet my own parents?" He let his anger out and Alice held the phone protectively on the side of her face, as if she were giving her crush a hug.

"Then go. Find your parents. Let them know you want to meet them, to know who they are."

"That is not a—" He stopped mid sentence and smiled mischievously, "That is a great idea! Thank you, Alice! You are a great friend. I can't believe I didn't think about that before. I gotta go, I'll see you later!"

Alice bid him farewell before she twirled and jumped onto the bed. She loved it when she gave him great ideas. Her eyes opened wide; she had told Luke to bring Charlie over so they could hang out together, but now she would have to cancel.

She quickly scanned her contacts until she found his phone number and called his house number. On the eighth ring he finally picked up.

"Took you long enough." Alice berated him.

He rolled his eyes, "What is it?"

"I'm gonna have to cancel. Geiney is gonna be out of the house tonight. His parents are in town and he wanted to go see them." Luke's body suddenly filled with energy, as he realized he could enact his plan sooner rather than later, "I know you really wanted to hang out tonight."

"Oh, it's no issue. I have something else to do right now anyways. I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it or not." He lied, trying to control his breathing as his excitement was making his body twitch.

"Okay. I'm really sorry Luke, maybe next time."

"It's okay. I'll talk to you later."

She nodded, "Talk to you later. Bye."

Luke hung up the phone and raced to his computer, video calling Charlie. On the fourth chime Charlie picked up.

"Are we heading to Alice's house now?"

"No, she canceled because Geiney had to go see his parents."

"I thought he didn't have parents."

"That's not why I called you," His excitement was now completely showing, "It's time… for the B and E."

This was much more exciting that Geiney thought it was going to be. Not having done something like sneaking around before, his whole body tingled with mischievous excitement. He had dressed himself in completely black clothing, almost looking like a ninja. His sisters had just left for the kitchen; he made sure they were inside the kitchen before looking around.

His sisters had to have left the address somewhere in the living room where their meeting with his parents took place. He found the address on the glass TV console. He swiped it and snuck back to his hiding place; behind the couch next to the first entrance to the living room by the stairs.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Luz asked her sister, starting a conversation in the kitchen.

"I think we did. Our parents wanted weapons for children. Weapons don't have emotions attached to their parents." Sara replied simply. Geiney rolled his eyes and snuck back towards the stairs. Halfway up the stairs he heard the conversation continue.

"Do you believe them? That they want to be a family again? I mean, why now? Why not all those years ago?" Luz continued.

"You heard them. They wanted a weapon. They didn't care about their children enough to actually love them." Sara replied rather harshly, "I don't know, Luz. I don't believe that's what they came here for. I just think they were here to see if they still had a weapon."

"But the look on their face though… Okay, so what if they did come here to be a family. What then?"

"Then they can spend ten more years without us."

There was a moment of silence. Geiney listened in; was that actually their parents? He knew only a little of their parents training. He knew it wasn't good but he didn't know it was that bad.

Luz and Sara told Geiney some of the terrors they faced and only gave Geiney a cliffnotes version of what they went through. Ailyn had insisted they they not tell Geiney of what their parents had done to them. When asked why, Ailyn wanted Geiney to have an unbiased opinion of their parents. While Luz and Sara argued with Ailyn about it, they finally gave in and followed Ailyn's instructions.

Geiney scoffed and finished sneaking up the rest of the stairway. With address in hand he had to find a way out of the house. He couldn't use the front door, and the back door might give his position away with the loud squeaky screen door. Out the window! He opened his window and looked around.

His escape was going to be a bit tricky. From the window pane he could hang by his arms and then kick off and reach for the wired fence separating the front yard and the backyard. If he could do that, he could climb down the rest of the way and find his lost parents.

Okay, maybe his plan was scarier than he thought it was going to be. He hung from the window pane, with his feet against the wall. He hesitated jumping as it seemed that the distance was getting longer and longer. He took a few deep breaths. He had to jump; there was no other way to safely reach the ground.

One… two… three! He jumped and reached the wire fence. He landed like a monkey, his arms grabbed the top of the fence and his feet caught on one of the openings. He sighed in relief as he started climbing down. Once he reached the bottom, he stayed silent, waiting for his sisters to come barging out the front door. When no one came out he gave a light chuckle and took the address out of his pocket. He realized that their house was just a few blocks away, and he could get there easily on foot.

He opened the gate and looked around. No one was watching him. He raced to the white colored vinyl fence and climbed over it. The sun had gone down and it was night out. The only lights were the light posts on his neighborhood every few houses and the lights illuminating from the neighborhood. He took the yards and hid in their shadows. He was going to meet his parents no matter what.

"I am one hundred percent sure Geiney is nowhere in this house!" Luz cried as they raced down the stairs and into the living room with Sara and Ailyn in tow.

"Where do you think he could've gone?" Sara asked.

"One guess. Our parents' house. He took the address." She said and pointed to an empty spot on the glass TV panel.

"He wouldn't!" Sara gasped.

"You guys did push him that far." Ailyn said, checking her fingernails.

"Ailyn, you're not helping!" Luz complained.

"I was. Until you sent him to his room."

Luz groaned. "Come on, let's go. We know where he is."

Geiney laughed. He had a soda secured in his hand and the other was covering his mouth. His parents had told him a funny story about Mia when she accidentally blew their kitchen up after mistaking a potion ingredient.

"That is why I always double check my potion ingredients now."

"That must have been awful." Geiney laughed.

"The cleanup was horrible!" She confirmed.

"She learned her lesson though." Josh lightly elbowed his wife who rolled her eyes.

"As if you were any better." She commented.

They heard a door open and turned to the hallway where three women showed up. Geiney all of a sudden felt small and looked away, embarrassed to have been caught.

"Geiney, let's go." Sara ordered.

"Now, girls." Josh said.

"No, Geiney disobeyed us. He is living with us. Not with you. And he snuck out," Luz turned to the boy, "You are so grounded when we get home."

"He came because he wanted to know who we are. He only ran away because you forced him to run away. Kind of like we forced you to run away." Josh replied sharply. Maybe the two parents deserved their scorn, but the hypocrisy with which they treated Geiney with made him livid. Perhaps he didn't want to see the mistakes he made replicated. The room suddenly went silent. It was as if the sisters were kicked in the gut. They realized it was the truth. The girls disobeyed their parents to run away from them because they didn't like being there. Now Geiney did the same thing.

"Girls," Mia started, speaking softly, almost in a motherly tone, "Don't make the same mistakes we made. Geiney told us how you didn't want him to see us. We don't blame you, but we're also not the same people we were all those years ago. Please believe us when we say we're sorry. We wanted to see our little boy too. And god, you all have grown up so much." Tears glistened in her eyes.

Ailyn leaned up against the wall. She didn't dare say anything. She watched the sisters and with a realization she realized what one of Wong's images meant. The perfectly cut polished diamond, broken in four pieces. One piece was bigger than the others, but the other three pieces were about the same size.

The image was talking about the Cuentas family. One piece bigger than the other meant Josh and Mia while the other three were their children. The three pieces of the diamond were the same size. This seemed to be true. _So that's what it meant.'_ She thought to herself remembering another image of two people chasing after pieces of bright diamonds .

"We're sorry for being such horrible parents. We're sorry we were never there when you needed us. We're sorry we missed you grow up." Mia spoke so softly it was almost a whisper.

Luz wiped her eyes. Sara's tears had finally fallen. Josh stood behind Mia when she held her arms out. Geiney walked up to her and embraced her. Mia sobbed softly onto his head. The girls whimpered… Were these actually their parents?

Mia gave Geiney a big, strong hug, feeling Geiney's body for the first time since he was a baby. Josh's eyes glazed over as he tried hard not to cry. He would not dare show it. After Geiney was let go, he hugged his father. It didn't work; his tears trailed down.

Ailyn smiled when Luz hesitantly walked up to Mia and finally embraced her.

"Mom…" Mia whimpered. To hear her daughter call her mom was overwhelming. It had been so long since she heard that word. In their training they didn't refer to their parents as "mom and dad", but by "Sir and Ma'am".

"Dad…" Luz hugged her father. He too gave her a big embrace.

"My sweet little girl…" He shuddered, trying to keep himself from sobbing as he held his now grown daughter.

Sara let out a small sob, as she slowly walked up to her mom. Why was she going towards her? Wasn't she mad at her? And her father? Then why was she heading towards her mother's comforting arms… Comfort…

Her flushing body slid into her mother's arms nicely, as if she belonged there. Her mother radiated nothing but warmth and more tears were shed. She heard a wail but she didn't know if it had come from her or someone in the room. Comfort.

Sara didn't even know how long she stayed there but when she released her mother, her father beckoned her over. His tear-streaked, happy smile filled his features and she too embraced him with that same hunger… The need to be hugged by her parents. That feeling she didn't know she missed… Forgiveness…

When they had all calmed down, their parents couldn't stop embracing them. They too had missed their children greatly. Mia held Geiney's face in her hands telling him he had grown so handsome. Josh told Sara how much of a beautiful and strong woman she had become. Mia held Luz's hands and told her how beautiful she was, how she took after her grandmother.

"Ailyn, thank you for taking care of them," Mia walked up to her former messenger, "I know it must have been hard for you to do your Whitelighter duties and be a mother to these three. For that, I thank you. You seem to have raised three intelligent, handsome, brave, and courageous siblings." She clasped Ailyn on the shoulder and leaned in to embrace Ailyn.

Ailyn welcomed the embrace. She felt Mia shudder from crying. It was a wonderful feeling to have three lost children rejoin with their parents. This was the first step, but she knew that the girls were independent, only relying on themselves. It would be difficult to introduce their parents to that equation. But she would worry about it later. For now, she would join in the reunion with the siblings' parents and her former bosses.

She wanted to have the children tell their parents so far what they had been through, what they have seen and experienced. She directed them back to the couch and started to lead the conversation.

"Josh, Mia. Since they left, your children have succeeded in proving they can achieve anything they want. Luz, for example, has studied for a long time to become a nurse. She currently works in a doctor's office and is still trying to achieve her doctorate."

Mia turned to Luz, stunned at her achievement. She smiled at her, "You always did want to help other people." She reminded her.

"And Sara here has studied arts to become a film and photography editor at an advertisement company in town. The ambitious girl eventually wants to direct her own movie."

Sara turned away, slightly embarrassed at how childish Ailyn made it sound. Josh chuckled, grasping a memory of Sara. "She always did like to act and set up scenery in her room." Sara cleared her throat, becoming redder.

"And Geiney here is _trying_ ," She stressed, slightly glaring at him, "to learn computers. Except he doesn't read any of the books he buys."

He pouted, trying to defend himself, "I will someday!"

Mia watched her three grown children, hiding her regret with happiness. "You three make us so proud. I couldn't have asked for better." Mia said.

Josh turned to Ailyn, "I can guess you made full Whitelighter?"

Ailyn smiled, "Yes. Actually the Elders berated me for taking the children in. They thought it would interfere with my duties as a Whitelighter. But I think I proved them wrong. It was a hard road, one that at times I wanted to give up. But every time I wanted to, I saw the beauty that the children showed. Their ambitions, their hopes and dreams. And I knew that I couldn't stop. I had to keep going."

Mia slightly chuckled at a random memory that popped up in her head, "I remember the Elders told you to become more pacifistic. That was one of the reasons they sent you to work for us; for you to learn how to defend and never fight. How well did that go?"

Ailyn turned away, hiding her face and Luz laughed, "She vanquishes demons every other day. She's almost a better witch than a Whitelighter."

Ailyn glared, "I never was the type to just stand and watch someone get hurt, okay?" She defended herself.

"Oh, Mom, Dad! Let me tell how about how I got my powers!" Geiney exclaimed, he was always excited about telling the story to other witches.

"So I was five years old when I knew I could control wind. Me and my sisters were in the park with Ailyn…"

With Geiney telling the story, Ailyn sat back on the couch with her arms crossed over her breasts. It gave her a moment to think seeing as Geiney's stories ran rather long. Now that everything was under control her mind addressed the one question that kept bugging her; how did Jeremy become un-vanquished.

She knew that once a demon, or angel or other magical beings, when vanquished will be "recycled". In a way it's almost like reincarnation. According to the Elders, when a demon is vanquished they are reincarnated as humans, just regular people. It was meant to keep a balance of good and evil. To wipe the slate clean.

But was there a way to un-vanquish a demon once they're vanquished? If there was, it would have to be someone really powerful. Maybe the Source? Or maybe a king of hell? Or an ancient, a being so powerful they were kept imprisoned in the underworld, kind of like the Titans and Tartarus in Greek mythology.

But, then that question comes up; who un-vanquished Jeremy? And for what purpose? Nothing today made any sense to Ailyn. First Jeremy is un-vanquished, then Josh and Mia find them and THEN Officer Robert finds out who they truly were… Ailyn felt like screaming. Why did everything happen all at once?

All at once… This had to have been planned. Someone sent Jeremy to attack the siblings and in this case found Geiney alone. And Josh and Mia scried the map for demonic activity. Maybe it was a coincidence that they found their children. But how did Officer Robert fit into this? How did he know Geiney was in trouble? He burst through the front door knowing Geiney was in danger. But who told him?

Who… What… Why… How… These questions kept repeating over and over in her head. She jumped, a little startled when everyone laughed at Geiney's story. She would have to talk to Josh and Mia about this, but for now she would just let them talk with their children. Perhaps this was what the girls wanted in the first place. Just talking. And now that Geiney was able to meet his parents, the scene that played out felt just right. Ailyn let the questions ring out softly in the back of her mind. She didn't want to disrupt the scene playing out in front of her. She found her former bosses and the parents to the children she raised by herself. She felt as if her mission was complete… for now.


	10. Family Reunited

Ailyn waited for the conversation to slow down before she decided to ask her questions. It seemed that the girls had warmed up to their parents. They almost looked like a normal family. She relaxed from her position on the couch and let the children lead the conversation. When there was a comfortable silence between the group, she leaned forward and cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"I can see that you both missed your children a lot." Ailyn spoke.

"Yes. We didn't know how much any of you meant to us until we lost you. It was a very dark time for us. At the time, we didn't know you three had run away. We thought a demon took you." Mia began.

"We attacked the underworld, tracking every demon in our Book of Shadows looking for you but... No one seemed to know who you were. After scouring the underworld twice, we found out that a Whitelighter had been protecting three children. We didn't know which Whitelighter and neither the Elders nor other Whitelighters seem to know who this Whitelighter shielding our children was. But I'm glad they were with the one Whitelighter we had trusted the most."

"You're not mad?" Ailyn was almost shocked. She expected some repercussion from her actions. Some form of anger, or sadness, but she was met with sincere gratitude.

"How can we be mad? We were the ones who pushed them away. But we are glad that you had taken them in. We couldn't have asked for a better protector."

Ailyn smiled. She paused for a moment, thinking about what they said and finally replied with a warm, "Thank you."

There was another comfortable silence before she spoke up once more. "Josh, Mia. I have a few questions regarding what happened to your manor."

Josh nodded, "Ask away."

"You said your manor was destroyed by the Demon Fists of Distant Hells, right? Do you know who their leader is?"

Josh shook his head, "There were three leaders. And each commanded a small army of at least a couple hundred. But that's all we know. Our spells weren't very effective against the leaders."

"What spell did you cast?"

"It was our most powerful vanquishing spell, one that uses the power of the Diamond crystal to vanquish all in its path. The crystal we used was the one our ancestors vanquished the Source with. But something went wrong and the crystal shattered into seven shards. We saw one shard disappear after the shockwave of the spell spread out. The three leaders ran inside and tried to fight us. We each took one shard, but in our panic we used our strongest powers together to send the other shards elsewhere."

They took out from underneath their shirts a leather thong with a small spiral golden cage and in it was a shard from their crystal about three inches long and an inch and a half thick. Each shard was unique in shape; Mia's was more slender while Josh's crystal had more girth but with pointed ends.

"Hold up… The Family Diamond? That shattered?" Luz voiced her question, concern evident in her tone.

"Yes, after the sun came back we used it to try and save the manor but..." Mia gestured to her crystal, "We couldn't begin to explain what happened. The crystal just sort of exploded in front of our eyes. The one shard vanquished the army of demons but it only seemed to knockback the leaders. Other than that they weren't harmed by our magic."

"That doesn't make any sense." Sara prodded.

"We know, but it did happened before our very eyes."

"So do you have any idea where you sent the rest of the shards?" Ailyn asked.

Josh shook his head no, "We only know that we sent them far away. They could be anywhere. They could be under this house, in Los Angeles or in Beijing for all we know." Mia explained.

"So what does that mean? We don't have a Diamond anymore?" Geiney asked, confused about the whole situation.

"Like most covenants, we get our powers from our symbols. We still have all of our powers and we are still witches no matter what. But we don't have the Diamond, which functions kind of like a power boost in dire situations." Mia enlightened.

"So we can still fight without the Diamond. You always did say the Diamond was just a token of moral, a symbol." Sara said.

Josh slowly nodded, "All that is true, but it also amplifies our powers; which is why the manor stayed protected for so long, and why even if we brought demons inside, you two always were shielded against their attacks. A fireball could only knock you down, but it could never kill you."

"Well, that was because the Elders also helped with their magic, too. No one could die at the manor as long as they stayed inside the Circle." Mia said.

"Inside the what now?" Geiney asked.

"The Circle is what we called the property of the manor. If you were to visit you would see a circular clearing and in the very center was our manor and school. The trees were the barrier between the real world and ours. As long as you stayed in that parameter you could never die no matter what spell was cast." Geiney tried to grasp the concept but his brain couldn't understand what Josh had just explained.

"Don't worry about it, Geiney. You'd have to see it to know what he's talking about." Sara smiled.

"Other than that, I don't know much about the leaders. We fled shortly afterwards, not having the energy to keep fighting. We hid in the safety of the forest for the night and in the morning fled into the city." Mia concluded.

"Then this might be something I'll have to look into." Ailyn said.

"No, don't. There's nothing left of the manor. Let them keep the remains. We will be back to take revenge, but only when its time. Until then, keep your distance, Ailyn. I know you, and I know you're going to take it upon yourself to help us. But please listen when I tell you to leave it be." Mia said.

Mia turned to her three children and smiled, "We were more than happy to see you three. It truly warms my heart to know the three of them are safe," She turned to Ailyn, "Thank you for keeping them safe."

Ailyn nodded, "I just wish I could've been there for you during the attack." She lamented.

"Don't worry about it, Ailyn. We saw our children, we were able to talk for the first time in years to our children. That is enough of a gift for us."

"So… mom and dad…" Luz paused, the names felt so strange on her tongue that she paused for a brief second, "What are you going to do about the crystal shards?"

The older couple turned to look at each other, "We will find them, eventually. But for now, were waiting for the situation with the Demon Fists to cool before we take any more action."

"What kind of demonic gang names itself Demon Fists of Distant Hells anyways? What are they gonna do, slap you to death?" Geiney poked fun at the name.

Ailyn shrugged, "While their name is as ridiculous as it sounds, their actions speak otherwise, tyke. They are actually a strong rival group. It's best to keep our distance for the time being. We don't need any more demons attacking us for now. We have our hands full."

"At any rate if you three need us for any reason, all you have to do is call for us." Josh offered.

"Call for you?" Geiney questioned.

"The power of the Diamond keeps us connected. Always remember that." Josh smiled.

Ailyn allowed the children to have some more time with their parents before it was time for them to leave. With one last goodbye and a strong embrace for everyone, they left the house feeling content. At least something good came out of the day magic was exposed to the Chief and Geiney was nearly killed at home that they could enjoy. Ailyn's mind was left calm and quiet. She received her answer to her question, and she was glad that they were a family… well, almost a family. But baby steps will always get them to where they need to go and that was enough for Ailyn.

Luke silently approached the quiet, unlit house with deft steps. Grappling with the fence for a few minutes, he finally fell over to the other side. Charlie scaled the fence behind him before tearing his shirt as he crashed into the bushes below.

"Was that your favorite shirt?" Luke asked in a joking tone.

Charlie glared at his friend, "Why are we doing this? Really, stealing from him?"

Luke disregards his friend's concern with a wave of the hand, "And get snubbed again? Not interested."

Luke approached the side of the building and spotted Geiney's window. The window had been left open. What was that about? You'd think they would lock it on their way out. I better not be the only one breaking in right now. For a second, Luke entertained the thought of Alice breaking in and chuckled to himself.

Ignoring the feeling in his gut, Luke set down a backpack he had brought and pulls out a makeshift grappling hook with a hook and bedsheets. Swinging it around, Luke managed to his great relief to get the window on the third try without breaking anything.

Pulling himself up, Luke motioned silently with a hand wave for Charlie to follow. With his first few steps into the house, Luke thanked whatever deities would listen that he had been right.

Opening up Geiney's computer and using his knowledge of the ditcher to get into his computer, he glanced at Alice's conversation and sighed to himself, "So it's her fault, too? Silly girl..."

"Who's a silly girl?" Charlie asked, stepping in behind him.

"Nothin' important," Luke closed out the computer, "Let's investigate downstairs as well."

After checking each of the other rooms, Luke slowly descended the stairs one by one, hoping not to hear any noises.

Charlie reluctantly followed, unsure what exactly his idiotic friend was planning.

After scouring the rooms, Luke found a sharp knife misplaced on the floor; a thin blade with a cold hilt, a small gem in the side that glowed a gentle, deep purple, and a curved edge. "Bingo!"

"You're taking that?" Charlie groaned, "That looks like an heirloom or something!"

"That's the point," Taking out a small notebook and tearing a page out, Luke wrote and spoke aloud, "Took the weird gem knife. Talk to us to get it back, understood? -Charlie and Luke."

Charlie complained, "Don't put my name first!"

Luke rolled his eyes, "Fine." Erasing what he put, he wrote his own name. When Charlie reached the door, Luke rewrote that it was Charlie's idea before smugly smirking and evacuating through the front door.

As the two young men enter an alleyway as they slink away from the well-lit city streets to return to Charlie's house, Charlie complained in earnest, "I swear to god, if you actually put my name down, I'm gonna beat your ass."

"But Chaaarlie, I don't want him to hate me!" Luke whined.

Charlie felt his blood vessels nearly burst, "Then why did we do this in the first place!?"

Luke averted his gaze, "Because I... had to."

Rubbing his temples to calm himself, Charlie decided to drop it. "...Whatever."

"You're mad, aren't you?" Luke frowned.

"I'm not mad."

"You sound mad."

Glaring at Luke, Charlie sighed, "You're an egg."

"A what?"

Before Charlie could answer, a man stepped into the alleyway in front of them, a man with a yellow tie and a business suit cut them off, "Oh...?"

"Act natural," Luke whispered, "Hey, sir... We're just headed home, that's all."

The man walks into the light, "No, excuse me. My name is Yuriel."

Charlie stepped back, feeling uneasy, "Like the angel?"

The cord struck in just the wrong way as the mysterious Yuriel rushed the two of them. Charlie reached for his knife but Yuriel grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Luke tried to loosen the man's grip, but Yuriel knocked him against the adjoining building by slamming his back into him, flooring him.

"I'm not some human's dog," Yuriel snarled, "Our lord was cast down into Hell for having an opinion, and what have humans done after being chosen!? Purposefully spreading diseases for petty or scientific reasons, waging war, the list goes on..."

Barely able to stand, Luke talked back, "What are you, some nihilist demon?"

Yuriel grinned, materializing a raging fire that surrounded his legs, nearly burning through Charlie's clothes every time his legs flailed near, "Choice words for a lowly human."

Charlie struggled to speak as Yuriel ruthlessly put pressure on his windpipe, smirking all the while, "What did... I do to deserve this?"

"Being human," Yuriel snarled, "Why must demons grovel under the dirt when humans create us more often than not!? Witches like that family you just robbed disgust us in the Underworld! They act better than regular humans because of their powers and dare pretend to be valorous when they exterminate my people like garbage!"

Luke asked, reaching for anything to use against this monster, "Don't you demons cause havoc anyways!?"

Yuriel dismissed this thought, "We're rebelling against the God that threw us away to the winds! The God that rejects us, that these foolish humans worship so dearly!"

"I'm not much of a church guy, but I thought the point of those ideas was to live a good life," Luke reasoned, wracking his brain for any idea, "I doubt most believe you exist in the flesh, right!?"

"And look at what the morality of religion has caused this earth!?" Yuriel spat back, tightening his grip slightly, "The world is hell. We demons just make it clear to those idolizing fools!"

Charlie interjected, "A demon who rejects his own religion...?"

Yuriel growled, "Not for long, I'm afraid. My four allies and I will soon rule this world... I'll be free to exterminate witches and worms to my heart's content!"

Struggling to think of an idea, Luke pulled out the blade he stole and gripped it to his chest, "Charlie, talk some sense into him, please!"

Charlie decided to distract him in the weirdest way he could think of, "If I was Jewish, would you hate me more or less?"

"They don't think of my Lord as a devil, per se, so..." Yuriel stopped to think about it as the flames licked Charlie's toes.

Seizing his chance, Luke jammed the blade deep into Yuriel's neck, barely able to stand as the monstrous man slumped into the wall as he screamed in agony. The demon grasped at Luke's hands but found he was unable to reach in time as his energy was slowly drained.

A dark glow surrounded Luke as the blade plunged deeper and Yuriel's movements ceased. Pulling the knife free with ease, sending blood onto the ground behind him, Luke wiped the rest on the man's coat and put it in a holder he used for an old knife he once had.

"You just... killed that thing!?" Charlie exclaimed, clutching his strained throat, "For real!?"

Luke glanced down at it, feeling the weird aura enter his body, "I... Yes. Whatever. We should hurry, before the police..." Yuriel's body began to fade, "...Thanos?"

Charlie bopped Luke on the head, "Dude, really?"

"It's fine... I hope. Anyways, let's hurry back, please." Luke urged as they both walked quickly out of the alley.

Luke and Charlie reached the latter's house and Luke began to leave, "Charlie, let's just not discuss this. Okay?"

"Stealing from Geiney was an awful idea... What if he really is a witch like that guy said?" Charlie's eyes widened, "What if his demon hunting... is why he's busy so much lately?"

"There have been increased and unexplained events in town, lately," Luke noted, "Maybe this will get his attention faster than I thought," He grinned sinisterly as the aura inside him showed on his shoulders.

"Dude... You're glowing..." Charlie's mouth hung open, "I am too sober for this..."

Luke glared at him, "No drinking underage. Maybe it's the knife's fault... I felt weird when I impaled that dude," Luke concluded to himself, "Maybe... No, that's stupid. Probably an after effect of using this magic item." The aura dissipated and Luke shrugged, "See?"

Charlie was the least bit convinced, "You have to tell him."

"And if that Yuriel dude was lying, I'll look insane and be put away. Not happening,"

Luke shot the idea down firmly, "If he brings up that witch stuff first, then I will. Okay?"

Reluctantly, Charlie submitted, "Fine, whatever... Seriously, what was that about?"

"Hell if I know," Luke chuckled at his bad joke, "I'll see you tomorrow. D Hall."

"Like always, I know," Charlie replied in a tired, dismissive tone.

After reuniting with their parents, Luz and Sara had grown to realize that they themselves had been treating Geiney too forcefully, giving them feelings of guilt. This culminated in a growing wish to compromise. Luz had talked to Sara in private late in the evening after they went to speak with their parents, and decided to surprise Geiney with a little speech.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Geiney asked as he yawned, sitting on the couch in the living room, the evening before taking quite a toll on his mind and body.

"Well, we were thinking a lot about what we were doing, and what we wanted to change. And all of this affected you, too. So I guess what I want to tell you is that we won't force training you as often as we have been doing."

"You mean that?" Geiney asked shocked at what his sisters had told him.

"Yes, we thought the weekdays would be for you friends and your education. We know you haven't been able to hang out with them as much as you wanted to so you're welcome to take the rest of the week off. We can train on the weekends, but we promise we won't be as hard on you as we have been doing all this time." Luz said.

"Our parents were right about you last night. You ran away to see our parents because we were doing the same to you as they did to us. We told you you couldn't see them and that wasn't right. For that, we're sorry."

Geiney smiled, feeling a warm feeling inside him. He remained cautious, "Are you sure? I know you've just wanted to help me grow."

"We're sure, little bro," Sara reassured him, "I... have to be better. We all do."

"Thank you guys..." Geiney hugged them both and cursed at himself not to cry.

"We also wanted to tell you that you did an exceptional job at vanquishing Jeremy on your own. That took a lot of courage and strength to do. You were very clever on your vanquish, Weapon blessing. You vanquished him by yourself and that was an accomplishment of being a witch. Finally a little respectable, aren't you?"

"Who are you and what have you done to my sisters?" Geiney asked, squinting his eyes at both his older siblings.

Luz chuckled, "We mean it, Geiney. Last night kind of kicked us in the butt. We had to confront some bad feelings last night, about our parents and ourselves. So we decided to become more lax on the subject. So for today, have fun with your friends." She clasped him on the shoulder.

He smiled and hugged his sisters once more. "Thanks, I will!"

"Now, hurry up or you'll be late for school."

Geiney strode into the school hallway with a smile on his face. He strutted with confidence as he walked the familiar halls to his locker. When he got to his locker, he remembered the note his friends had left and his mood changed. He needed to find Charlie and Luke and get that Athame back.

"Hey, there's this guy who is just destroying the basketball team!" Geiney stopped and listened in to a conversation taking place between two students not far from him.

"What? Get out." The student raised his eyebrow.

"I'm serious! Go look! I didn't think this guy had it in him. He may not look like it, but the bro can play sports!"

"Who is he?"

"I think his name is Luke. He goes to my fourth period a talker, but he's destroying them right now! The co-captain's cryin' like a bitch!" His friend talked excitedly.

"Then let's go!" They rushed out with a loud slam of the lockers.

"It couldn't be…" Geiney whispered to himself.

He began to walk in the direction of the P.E court where the basketball team practiced. He followed the same path the two students took, but as he took the corner to the next hall he saw Garrett and his gang of bullies approach.

"Hey, look! It's the terrorist!" Geiney rolled his eyes.

"I make one pleasant comment about the Middle East and all of a sudden I'm a terrorist. Right, cuz that's how that works."

"Me and you have a score to settle." He smiled deviously, referring to when he corrected Garrett during a presentation. He was the unfortunate fool to get partnered up with him and while Geiney did all the research on the subject, Garrett only read it in an article online. Actually, it seemed that Garrett skimmed the information on the web because all of it was completely wrong, and in the process Geiney embarrassed Garrett in front of the whole class.

"I'm not scared of you, Garrett." Geiney crossed his arms over his chest in defiance.

"We'll see about that." As he walked past Geiney he shoved him to the wall, knocking Geiney to the ground. Garrett and his gang of bullies laughed and walked away, high-fiving each other.

"One of these days I'm going to knock him off his throne. What's the big deal with jocks anyways? There's nothing special about them." He wiped the dirt off his pants when a voice spoke.

"I know, right?" Geiney turned around, expecting to find someone there, but was stunned when he turned to an empty hallway.

"Uh… what?" Geiney whispered.

Meow. Something poked his shin and he looked down to see a happy cat wagging its tail back and forth.

The cat meowed once more at Geiney and climbed up a rail. It turned to Geiney once more, wagging its tail slowly back and forth. Geiney was startled by the fact that there was a cat in the school. How did it get in here? The cat meowed a third time, and as Geiney took three steps to face the cat better, the sun hit the cat in such a way that it almost looked like the cat had a halo to it. It was the perfect Kodak moment for a celestial image. The sun's rays engulfed the body of the cat… Almost looked like a little furry guardian angel.


	11. Don't Vanquish The Messenger

Losifer growled to himself as the meeting dawned. Yuriel's life force had vanished without a trace; no doubt vanquished by those damn witches. But the power had not returned to Losifer. Why!? Was there a flaw in his contract? No, couldn't be. His power to absorb the powers of those he contracted with was perfect. Unless...

"Damn it!" Losifer screeched in anger. He had realized it now. If they had found and used the absorption Athame that they had gifted Silas to resurrect Jeremy with, the power would instead go to the attacker.

Losifer felt his body grow tense. He couldn't stand to Mike Hell now. Mike was insisting on a duel of sorts, an open challenge. Losifer had refused, but now he had no choice. No... Wait! Perhaps he could use this to his advantage!

"Master Losifer," Gabbriel shimmered in first.

Losifer grinned, thankful that someone knew their place, "Early as always. I am proud to work with someone agreeable."

A laugh echoed, "Someone weak-willed like you, rather," Mike Hell shimmered in, pointing at the other two, "Weaklings, you both are. Always scheming in the shadows like dogs!" Mike had a white coat on top of his suit, hanging loosely on his shoulders.

Gabbriel countered the outsider, "Flaunting our powers gets us vanquished. Yuriel disagreed with us as well, and has fallen."

Mike shook his head, "He had some potential, mind. Not enough, it seems. Losing to small time beginner witches? Laughable."

"And what have you accomplished of late?" Gabbriel spoke back, annoyed with his comrade's constantly vicious attitude.

"Not destroying you. Explain to me why I don't put you down like dogs and handle this myself." Mike grinned.

Gabbriel smugly answered, "You need us."

Mike laughed uproariously, "What!? Need you!? A glorified mailman and the weakest demon I've ever met!? Why did the Master even take you on, Losifer? After you failed before with that last family? Did you offer to advertise for them?"

Losifer felt his anger build, "Don't cross me. You would suffer to do so."

"Bluffs have no effect on me," Mike deadpanned.

"If you eliminated us, how would you contact the Master?" Losifer taunted.

Mike felt a single bead of sweat form on the back of his neck, "Oh?"

Losifer added on, "A betrayal of us is a betrayal of them, is it not? They would certainly

strike you down where you stood for such... blatant disregard of her wishes."

"Your command has led to the deaths of one of our comrades already," Mike shot back, "You're not fit to-"

"A renegade demon was killed in the streets. Yuriel was of no use to Master alone. He proved that with his disloyalty. Shall you do the same?" Losifer flaunted his knowledge of the mastermind behind their actions, "They don't need you. There are other, stronger demons they could utilize to finish the job Jeremy started."

Mike recoiled for a brief moment, but calmed himself, "If I kill you both and do them in myself, they won't have any complaints."

Losifer tilted his head, "Perhaps. But are you willing to risk fighting three witches, one maybe amplified by Yuriel? Or maybe a stranger found it..."

Raviel stepped into the room behind them, a blunt in his hand, "I watched it go down..."

"You what!?" Losifer and Mike shouted bellowed simultaneously.

"Went to tell him not to fight strangers again. He ran in, got killed. Some young teen, walked from the witch house. Could smell the magic on him. Guess he's a demon-powered human now."

Losifer began to calculate possibilities, "Do you know why?"

Raviel puffed once more, "Stole the Athame. A regular breaking and entering."

"How did you find their house!? When did you find their house!?" Losifer yelled in anticipation.

"Yuriel found it first, actually," Raviel explained, "Was lurking nearby to punish the thieves. The guys mentioned being friends to the youngest, a boy named Geiney." Pulling out a business card, Raviel threw it to Mike, "The workplaces of the older ones. If you send Gabbriel, you can lure them into a trap like you want."

"My, my..." Mike smiled triumphantly, "Messenger boy, if you tell them about that old metal shop, I can duel them there. Agreed?"

Gabbriel recoiled, "Of course not! We have said time and time again to cooperate with-"

Losifer smirked, "Do it, Gabbriel. Let's give Mike his time to shine."

"But Master-" Gabbriel started to argue, "...No. If you agree, I shall, Reluctantly, I remind."

"Raviel?" Losifer ignored Gabbriel's complaints, "Did you follow the power absorber?"

Raviel laughed, "Yeah. Want to attack him?"

Losifer shook his head, "Recruit him, more like. We don't have an Athame anymore, and if he has Yuriel's powers and the witch's trust, we have a plan B."

Silas stepped into the room, adjusting his clothes, "I was plan B before, wasn't I?"

"You let us down," Losifer scoffed, "Do what you will for now, Silas. I'm going to have Gabbriel and Mike move in. Raviel, see if you can approach and recruit the young lad."

Raviel dropped his blunt, "Wait... you're trusting... me?"

Losifer sighed, "Yuriel's dead, Gabbriel and Mike are focusing on the older sisters, and I can't let them know I or Silas exist. You're the only one I can send."

Mike whispers to Gabbriel, "He's totally dead next."

Gabbriel rolled his eyes and ignored his unfortunate ally.

Raviel nodded, triumphant orchestral music playing in his head, "I can... I will do this, Losifer! I won't fail you... Uh... Master?"

Losifer cringed visibly, "Just Losifer. It sounds weird when you say Master."

"Whatever, dude." Raviel shimmered out, hoping that he wasn't heading to the weed store again.

Gabbriel took out a notepad, "I'll begin compiling the letter. Wait, I'll just meet them face to face. They won't kill me for sending a warning, right?"

"As long as the message gets across, there won't be any major loss," Mike rhymed, walking out in style with his white coat hanging over his shoulders flowing in the breeze weaving through the cavern from above.

Silas wondered to himself what these witches must be like. Why kill them? At one time, demons and witches did work together in some ways. Perhaps he should meet them before he made final calls on their lives.

Losifer left the room, laughing to himself, "Yes, this is..." Soon he would win. Raviel would die or live and be absorbed later. The new arrival he would betray for Yuriel's power or maybe if he killed the witches, theirs too! It was all coming together. He just had to bank on Mike being slain. But either way, he would have his happy ending!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please enjoy this work of art for the HealthyLife company." Sara grinned at the top heads of the company. She was standing next to the large LCD screen they used to play their works in progress. Sitting opposite of the screen was the Company's president, Jack McAllister, and next to him was his assistant, Abby. To the right of Jack sat Patrick, the vice president and his secretary, Katie. To the right of the group was the head of the cinematography branch, Troy Brooks. And finally, next to them sat Rachel, the Vice President's wife and accountant to the company.

Sara clicked play and everyone watched attentively as the screen counted down from five. Soft music began to play and the screen panned out of its black screen and unto the model. The model in a fetal position stood up, showing off her white greek tonga with gold laces and trims. She wore a green leaf crown and her golden hair in a knitted braid. The scenery around her was of a river and a short distance away was a pedestal with a beauty product. She stepped closer to the product, looking rather curious. She picked up the product from behind and examined the product closer.

A female announcer began narrating, "HealthyLife's newest beauty cream, for all the ladies who want to keep their skin rejuvenated and glowing. The best moisturizing cream and lotion ever, created by the gods. This is Vigor Vitality. Our scientists at HealthyLife have developed this cream to fulfill a lifelong dream of someday creating an Elixir to aging. With Vitamin A and Vitamin B5, your skin will look bright and soft. Forget other lotions; Vigor Vitality has PABA-free sunscreen with an SPF 20 rating. This will keep your skin protected from the harmful rays of the sun."

The model was shown massaging the cream into her arms, a small smile on her rose petal lips. Once the cream was applied, a soft glow emanated from her flesh. She gave a smile that showed her perfect white teeth. She was cut to shown her arms crossed across her chest with the glow growing brighter until it enveloped the screen and cut to a different model.

"Vigor Vitality helps skin stay young and reduces skin problems like dryness, irritation and acne. Our moisturizer is so much more than just a plain store-brand product. It is a sunscreen, cleanser and a lotion all included into one bottle by your most trusted company, HealthyLife. We believe beauty is for everyone." The screen cut off to three models all wearing similar outfits. Sara remembered editing and had fallen in love with the glow and twinkle effect she had used on the shot. The models did seem to be glowing and at a certain angle, their bodies twinkled as if a crystal was being looked at under the light.

The screen cut to four male models, all bare chested with only the Greek undergarments on. They all held the Vigor Vitalis product in their hands. "Now, for men too. It is proven men were meant to carry the workload. So why not care for their skin as well? Vigor Vitalis for men will not only do everything the moisturizer does, except hardening the skin instead and relaxing the muscles."

The screen cut to a close up of the main model's divine face where she lathered the pearl-colored cream heartily. She massaged her face, eyes closed in ecstasy. The scene cut to the model, showing off her bare shoulders and looking rather sensual. She gave a small wink to the camera as the camera moved to show her bare back. "HealthyLife—bringing ourselves one step closer to immortality, because beauty is eternal."

"Thank you, HealthyLife." spoke the three models holding each other as if taking a group picture, each one with a pleasant smile on their face. Sara deeply admired the models. She really did see the beauty in these women. She almost envied the women, but then remembered what it took to even get these three in the same room; a small pleasant memory of what reality was like.

The screen cut to black and Sara stood up to address everyone; "Well? What do you guys think?"

Troy stood up, his hand flimsily pointed out in emphasis, "You know I wouldn't have brought everyone here if I didn't think it deserved to be viewed." Troy said, his excitement clearly showing.

"Jack? Patrick? Rachel?" He addressed the superior's in the room.

"All of your work, Troy, is simply amazing. I vote to invite the HealthyLife president over and show him." Rachel flicked her hands towards the LCD screen.

"I think it's great. Except you should cut the men out of the picture." Jack glared at Patrick.

"Now is not the time to joke around," Jack turned to Troy, "You are a valuable asset to this company, Troy. I agree with Rachel, we showcase the commercial to HealthyLife."

Troy giddily clapped his hands together, "What would you guys do without me?" He prided himself.

"Now," Jack stood up, "the next step, since we're all in agreement, is to plan the banquet and showcasing. We need a date, time, and banquet food. But above all, we need to make sure all goes well for HealthyLife. It is their first time working with us so we need to go above and beyond to ensure we have their full support for future projects."

"If we can kick this off, HealthyLife will be a good enough income for the company. Which means more pay for you all. This also means that we may have more commercials from HealthyLife so we'll be staying busy with their company. If they really take a shining to us, they may even recommend us to connected companies." He reminded everyone.

"You know us, Jack. We'll give them a good time and your fiancé, Alicia and my wife, Rachel provide the company." Patrick said as he brought his arm out, as if he was blocking an attack and Jack slapped his arm with his own, their own friendship handshake of sorts. Sara only ever saw that exchange when they were to tackle a project or when they had their own game plan for their clients. It always made her laugh how her bosses acted like small boys at times.

"Oh, then that means me and Alicia will get to be the generous, gracious hosts again." Rachel smiled. Alicia, Jack's fiancé, doesn't work for the Abstraks company, but she was often invited and helped host banquets, dinners and private showings for Jack and his company. While she had no experience working with a commercial and film company, she had plenty of experience with people and customer relations and she always had Jack alongside her. She was confident in her ways of speaking, handling people, and Jack's confidence. Whenever a client didn't particularly like a shot or scene, she would be the first to diffuse the situation and arrange things to be fixed.

Alicia and Rachel had hit it off as best friends. Whenever Alicia was mentioned as a guest invite, Rachel was ecstatic. She absolutely loved working with her on any project and the two were often seen hanging out outside of work.

"Oh my god! I cannot wait to see my two favorite hosts." Troy laughed, "Oh, but if you two need a dress, darling, please give me a call. I have this really cute idea that will make all the boys jealous. So then, I will provide the food, the video entertainment, the invitations, and the dress ware.

"Oh, no!" Abby cried, she began frantically tapping on the screen of her phone.

"Is something wrong, Abby?" Jack asked, concerned. Whenever Abby panicked was when something was very wrong.

"The decorative company we assigned to help us out cancelled. It seems they had a fire break out and damaged the materials. They sent us an apology notice." She slapped her phone on the table, "What do we do now?"

The room suddenly shifted feelings. "Okay, nobody panic. We have Troy here to decorate the banquet room." Jack gestured with an arm to Troy, who leaned his weight on one leg.

Troy clucked his tongue, "No no no, my darling. I have too much to do already. Don't forget that even if I were to finish all I need to do today, which is impossible mind you, I still need to make my personal thank you speech and write yours as well." He crossed his arms over her chest.

"Hey, how about Sara." Patrick suggested.

"Me?" Sara was taken aback.

"That's not a bad idea. She _is_ usually the one that works with the decorative company." Jack agreed.

"But I don't have the materials nor the experience to do it. Besides, wouldn't it be better for a certified company to do it for you?"

"That's okay, Sara," Rachel began, "I'll handle the bills and the accounts. You tackle the banquet room. I have complete faith in your artistic ability to decorate just one room. I will give you access to a temporary banking account that only you are authorized on. I think five thousand dollars on the account will be more than enough."

Sara nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed with the trust her superiors had in her. Never before has she had to do this type of job for her bosses. It gave her a warm feeling to know that all of her bosses had such a high regard for her.

Troy stepped up, "Remember darling, we need to buy the food, the drinks, the color theme, a live orchestra and plenty of decorations like ice sculptures and such. I'll give you a list of food I think we should order. I need to get in touch with the director."

"Hold up, Mr. Prodigal!" Jack raised his voice rather dramatically, "We don't _need,_ " He stressed, "A live orchestra nor decorations like ice sculptures. What are we going to do do? Order a naked Troy Ice sculpture?"

"Why, yes. I think that would be a terrific idea. No censorship though," He looked at his fingernails letting some sass out, "I hear I'm pretty blessed for my size."

Patrick gagged while the women looked away from Troy, embarrassed at his words.

"It takes a special kind of person to say something like that." Sara whispered to the other women in the room who nodded their heads in agreement.

"At any rate," Jack turned back to Sara, "No orchestras or ice sculptures. That's an order!" His hiss was more to Troy than to her.

"I do have to agree with Rachel. I think Sara is more than capable of handling the decoration for the banquet room." Jack nodded.

"Thank you, Jack. But I won't be able to handle such a big room by myself. I need a crew."

Jack nodded, "Take as many as you need. Are you thinking about bringing people from the outside?" He asked a bit unsure of what he wanted the answer to be.

"Nope. Abstraks has the only crew I need."

"Excellent. Then take whoever you want to help you out. Let me know within an hour who they will be so they are excused from their divisions."

Sara nodded, "Thank you, Jack."

"This meeting is adjourned. Everyone knows their jobs. Let's get started."

The meeting broke up and Sara went straight for her office. She knew exactly the people to call too. Once she arrived, she flung the door closed and ran for her desk. She dialed the first phone number.

"This is Daisy at Customer Relations. How may I help you?"

"Daisy, it's Sara. Code Gold in the meeting room, five minutes."

"On my way!" affirmed Daisy.

Code Gold was one of many codes given to their little gossiping group. Code Yellow meant an emergency meeting and was usually for personal topics. Code Pink was for the group to be cautious around work for one reason or another. Code Silver meant that a member needed to hide or smuggle something inside or outside Abstraks, usually their children when they didn't have a babysitter. Code Gold meant an opportunity to advance inside the workplace. This code was never turned down and everyone pitched in to help each other out.

Sara dialed the next phone number on her list; the only one left she needed. The phone rang until a machine picked up and when prompted Sara dialed the extension. The phone rang twice before her friend's voice answered.

"Roseanne, security personnel speaking. How may I direct your call?"

"Roseanne, this is Sara. Code Gold for all in the meeting room at the presidency. Five minutes."

"I'll be right there!" She hung up and Sara got her things ready to head down to the meeting room.

When Sara arrived, Daisy, Laura, and Brooke were sitting down next to each other on one side of the table.

"Sara. What is our golden opportunity?" Daisy asked.

"I'll tell everyone once Roseanne arrives. But this little project will earn us some brownie points with the big bosses."

The girls let their minds wander.

The door opened and in walked Roseanne.

"What's all this about a golden opportunity?" She spoke as she sat next to Sara.

"Okay, so here's the story. The decorative company we usually hire to decorate the banquet room had a fire break out recently. This fire damaged most of their buildings and equipment which means we don't have outside help. So I've been tasked to do it instead. And that means I need a crew." She sang the last part and the girls looked at one another completely excited for what their new project would be.

"And Jack allowed this?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, he was desperate. He was going to ask Troy, but he's busy with other things. Since I'm the one who oversees the decorative projects anyways, they asked me to do it. Of course, you all know the size of the banquet room and one girl is not enough to tackle a room of that size."

"Then, when one girl isn't enough, five girls are!" Brooke pointed out.

"Exactly! So will you guys be able to help? Jack is willing to excuse you from your divisions. We all know that the banquets are the most important events here at Abstraks and are to be taken seriously and with the highest priority." She sounded exactly like Jack, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Don't worry, Sara. I'm all in! Let's show our higher ups we're more than just employees. We are assets to this company!" Brooke spoke with her chest out, sounding dramatically.

The girls agreed and when the excitement calmed down a bit, Sara continued. "So Troy will be handling the food choice. But we still need a color theme, mild decorations, the banquet room setup, and drinks. We also need a dedicated station because HealthyLife will be giving away free products for the showcase of their commercial. We also need to borrow the sound and video equipment from fifth floor and set that up."

The door opened unexpectedly and everyone whipped their heads to look at the intruder.

"My, my, my. What are all of you ugly hags doing here? Get back to work! This is a meeting room, not a place to socialize. Go on! Everyone shoo!" Eva waved her hands in front of her as if she were trying to move a dog.

"Eva Scott. Why am I not surprised?" Sara sighed.

"What are you hags doing here anyway? Not that I care, but it looks to me like none of you are working." She flicked her hair, showing that she didn't care she was interrupting the group.

"We are working, Eva, if you must know." Daisy spoke with her familiar British accent.

"On what? Gossip?" Eva replied staring at her blood red colored fingernails. Eva felt like she was slowly cornering the group, or rather it was an illusion of hers.

"Listen here, you… peasant!" Eva gasped at the insult, "We are working on an important project for Abstraks. We are setting up the banquet room for HealthyLife. So if you excuse us, we need to leave." Brooke stood up, trying to intimidate Eva which didn't work.

Eva stamped her foot, "Only executives and companies are allowed in the banquet room. You bunch of hags don't have the right to be in, much less touch, the banquet room."

"I dare you to try to stop us." Brooke inched closer, Sara tried to keep her in place but surprisingly Brooke was stronger than her.

"I will! I'll make sure Rachel knows what's going on." She left the meeting room calling out for Jack and Rachel.

"Should we be concerned?" Daisy asked looking up towards Sara from where she sat.

"Nope," Sara grinned, "It was Rachel's idea to begin with."

"Alright, sugar," Laura spoke up, "I'll take the decorations job."

"I'll take the color theme." Daisy said.

"Brooke and I can handle the set-up." Roseanne said, Brooke nodding in agreement.

"Then I will look for drinks and grab the equipment we need from Productions. I'll oversee the entire project. Everyone send me what you guys can find since I'm the one with an authorized bank account. Send me what you guys have and I'll put in the order."

Everyone nodded and Sara adjourned the meeting. Everyone immediately went to their desks, ready to help out their friend. Sara needed to fax a copy of the document she received for the banquet room. Upon passing Rachel's office she heard what sounded like verbal commotion from the office. No doubt Rachel putting Eva in her place for meddling in her affairs. After she finished her fax she knew she needed to get in contact with Jack and letting him know her crew. Time to figure out her next plan of action.

"Doctor," Luz opened the door to Doctor Danson's office, "You have a priority one walk-in. Do you have a minute to see him?"

Doctor Danson wrapped his stethoscope around his neck.

"I guess. I'm supposed to meet with Mr. Jude Lloyd on his X-rays for his broken arm. But I can make time for Priority One. What's their story?"

Luz gave him an awkward smile, "Do I have to?"

The doctor raised his eyebrow, "What's his story?"

"The fire challenge?" She shrugged, her awkward smile only getting bigger and much more awkward.

"What the hell is the fire challenge?" He asked not amused.

"Someone covers themselves in an alcoholic product such as sanitizer and lights themselves on fire while under the stream of a shower."

The doctor gave a long audible exhale, "I'm going to see Mr. Lloyd."

"Doctor," Luz gently pleaded, "Fine. But we're billing his insurance double."

The doctor stormed out of his office already dreading the stupidity of the situation.

"He's in room three, doctor. I'm sure you're more than capable of handling him on your own." Luz winked, letting the doctor seethe in his own rage.

"A fitting punishment for a dumb teenager." Luz whispered to herself.

Once the doctor reached the door to room three he grabbed the folder and flipped it open to see what he was dealing with. The child was Garrett Barber, age 15. It seemed he was the unfortunate victim of a "fire accident" after playing the fire challenge. Luz wrote in that the burns looked like first degree, not permanently scarring but still needing to be looked at.

The door opened and in walked the doctor.

"Mr. Garrett Barber?" Doctor Danson asked.

"Yeah, that's me." Garrett had half of his shirt off on one side. He had his entire arm out of the collar of the shirt, making him look like an ancient warrior. The doctor noticed the visible reddened skin from his arm to his chest. He had his arm stiffly out as if it were in an imaginary cast, floating in the air awkward and limp.

"I'm Doctor Danson and I will be treating you for the burns."

The doctor, out of habit, went straight for the gloves that were on a shelf next to the door. He put on a pair of medium sized latex gloves.

"So how did you get burned?" Doctor asked, trying to make conversation.

"I was doing the fire challenge and something went wrong." He gave a slight chuckle as if finding the situation humorous.

"And how did you do the fire challenge?" He asked gritting his teeth.

"I put sanitizer on myself and lit it on fire. But I guess something went wrong cuz it burned."

Doctor Danson smiled thinking his answer quaint, if not idiotic. Doctor grabbed his arm and pulled it closer to him in one motion, making Garrett gasp.

"Watch it, Doc!" Garrett felt his arm burn again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that too rough? Maybe you'll think about that the next time you wanna do something stupid. Now hold still."

Doctor Danson examined the injury closely. The burns didn't penetrate the inner layer of skin, only the outside. There were some signs of infection already starting as there was some oozing of the skin. There was some severely red skin where the arm and wrist was, if the doctor had to guess where Garrett lit himself on fire.

"Where did you start the fire?"

"Here." The doctor smiled on the inside as he had been correct. Garrett lit himself starting at the wrist.

"You're very lucky. This could've been worse. How old are you, again?"

"Fifteen."

"Where are your parents? Didn't they ever tell you not to play with matches? Obviously not if you're here."

"It was a lighter." He corrected.

"And that makes it better?" He reprimanded Garrett angrily. "How dumb do you have to be to not understand that fire burns? And even worse you _lit_ ," he stressed, "yourself on fire! What did you think, that nothing would happen to you? That you would come out like a magician unscathed?" The doctor walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a bottle labeled, "Burn-away gel". He shook the contents of the bottle, continuing with his rant. "What could possibly make you think that what you did was such a brilliant idea you had to light yourself on fire? What did you gain out of it?"

Garrett shrugged, smiling as if the rant didn't affect him.

"It was gonna be uploaded to Youtube."

Doctor Danson rolled his eyes. He was familiar with the website.

"Yeah, kids these days have to light themselves on fire to gain attention."

"It wasn't for attention, doc. It was to prove that I can do it. "

"And did you prove it?"

"No, I got burned." Doctor Danson rolled his eyes.

"Besides Youtube gives you money if you reach a certain amount of views."

"Oh yeah? What amount could they possibly give you to make you want to do this."

"Five dollars for every ten thousand views!" Garrett said with pride.

Doctor Danson felt his brain hemorrhage and decided to ignore the child. No, this dumb adult. Because a child would be smarter than this dumbass. He took a couple deep breaths, willing himself to calm down before proceeding to the cleansing procedure. After he cleaned the wound, albeit slightly rough on Garrett on purpose, he dried the wound, enjoying Garrett's whimpers.

The doctor squirted some of the cool gel unto Garrett's arm. He massaged the gel unto the teenager's arm, much to Garrett's ultimate discomfort. The doctor worked his way upward and finally finished at Garrett's chest. Garrett hissed in discomfort and pain.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah!" whined Garrett.

"Good. It means you're alive." The doctor threw the gloves away. "That stunt you pulled was beyond stupid!"

"It wasn't stupid. Everyone's doing it." He gestured with his arms the world.

"And what happens?"

Garret shrugged.

Doctor Danson pointed at Garrett's wrist, "This could have been worse. You have no idea how lucky you are. Then again, I think you're a bit slow to understand it. If everyone's doing it, then go jump off a bridge. However, if you think something is stupid then maybe it's because it is. You need to think before you act." Doctor Danson put his materials away, "Little piece of advice, young man. The next time you decide to do something stupid, remember this," He tapped Garrett on the arm causing him to flinch. "First degree burns."

"Can I get some pain killers?" Doctor Danson looked unamused.

"No. Go to your pharmacy and buy something called Burn-Heal+. That will help you."

"Will the pain go away?"

"Nope. That pain will be there for the next two weeks." Doctor Danson smiled, "Have a nice day."

Garrett clicked his tongue, "Lazy old man." Doctor Danson shook the insult away, feeling slightly better now. He wrote a quick report on Garrett's chart and finished it off with the word, 'Idiot'. Now, onto the next patient.

Luz opened the door to the house and walked in. As she walked passed the table with a large blue ceramic bowl she threw her keys into the bowl. "Anyone home?" She called out. She stepped into the living room and threw her sweater unto the couch. She took a few moments to sit down on the couch and when she had enough of her repose, she stood up and went up the stairs to her bedroom.

Gabbriel stood outside some distance away. He smirked when he saw Luz enter. He had just gotten there when he saw her car exit her car and enter the house. He doubted anyone else was inside but how bad could three little witches be?

He shimmered inside the atrium of the house and examined his surroundings. The smell of some blooming roses inside made his nose hurt. He hated the smell of roses. They reminded him too much of the good in the world. The symbol of the roses was infamous in the underworld ever since She, His mother, gave her children a rose whenever they needed help and guidance.

He saw a large cabriole couch meant for four people. Right next to it sat a pot with African violets in bloom. On the other side of the couch was an air plant. Hanging on the roof just above the couch was a small pot with a single peace lily dangling by a hook and wire. There were some paintings scattered around the room. There was plenty of room here; a smirk played at his lips.

He heard commotion upstairs and decided to follow the noise. Luz ended up walking into the attic and groaned.

"Ailyn…" She moaned as she saw a mess in the attic, no doubt training with Geiney. "No doubt he used his powers too. At least pick up your mess." She groaned as she began putting things in their place. A book shelf was toppled over. She tried to push it upright but it wouldn't budge as it was too heavy for her comparatively diminutive body. She took a step back and with her powers, waved her hand, and the bookshelf moved itself upright.

"How long have you been a witch?" Gabbriel walked in, seeing Luz right the toppled bookshelf.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ah, hell. Such a wonderful place. You must visit, witch. You'd have a blast."

"Why are you here?" She demanded to know.

"I'm here to give you a little warning. You have killed one of my companions. Or maybe it was another? Who knows? You see, even messengers get the message wrong sometimes." He toyed with her.

"Yeah, we killed Jeremy."

"No, not him. Couldn't care less about him. Another companion of mine. Maybe you've seen him. Or maybe you haven't? Maybe someone else saw him, an innocent perhaps. Well, not so innocent now, actually." He chuckled at the cryptic message he portrayed.

"How did Jeremy escape? We vanquished him once already."

Gabbriel shrugged, laughing. "Beats me, but now that I have you here alone. I'm going to tell you a little secret. There are more of us; we have been watching you. My name is Gabbriel, and I'm the messenger of the underworld. But before this goes any further, I have one more message. I believe you and him were lovers at one point. How's your boyfriend?"

Luz froze, her face contorted into anger. Unconsciously, she reached out and grabbed the Book of Shadows from its pedestal, preparing to vanquish him if needed.

"Oh, does that hit a nerve?" He taunted, "Maybe this rings a bell?" He chuckled at his own joke, "A church bell!" He laughed as he took something out of his pocket. Luz didn't react; the demon had her full attention.

He threw the ring under hand. Using her powers, Luz caught it midair and brought it into her outstretched hand. The object was a gold ring with a flat diamond as its centerpiece. It had two stones on opposite sides of the band. She recognized the stones as the birthstones of her family including Ailyn's. She ran her thumb over the diamond… was this his proposal ring?

"Cat got your tongue, witch?" He snickered, "The fool had an engagement ring for you! Yeah, something about proposing yada, yada, yada. The point is I was there when it happened." He taunted. If only he could see auras; Luz shed one lonely tear, silence overcoming her and stifling any words on her tongue; but inside she screamed in agony. She unknowingly placed one hand on the Book of Shadows, and took a deep breath.

"Gabbriel, I have a message for you. I will send you to hell myself!" She gathered up power, feeling her entire being filled with energy. She unknowingly called upon the power of the Diamond by placing her hand on the Book.

"You can try!" He howled excitedly as he created a fireball and drew power to it. Wind whipped around him as the fireball grew bigger. When he finished, his fireball was the size of five basketballs. He held it above his head to throw it.

"By the powers of the Diamond I call upon Astarte to bring down the Lion of War to vanquish this demon…" she murmured, her words seem to echo throughout the room.

Gabbriel lobbed the fireball just as Luz let out a loud scream that held her feelings; pain and anger mixing with the love she held for her lost love. She aimed her hand towards the fireball and released all of her pain. The fireball disintegrated and the whole house shook as if it were in an earthquake. The fireball consumed Gabbriel in a wave of heat and smoke, his screams of agony slowly dying down until silence returned to that small attic. The heat was so intense it rocketed through the door, shattering it and pushing through the cracks and open windows of the house into the sky. He disintegrated into black powder and the whole room suddenly grew very warm. A loud hiss was heard as the fire died down, and when the smoke cleared away, she saw only a shadow of where he used to stand on the wall surrounded in charred wood and drywall. Gabbriel's last action was of him holding his hands up as if trying to evade his fate.

Sara finished her fax when all of a sudden she gasped; she felt a familiar power,and a love she thought had died. She clutched her chest, not knowing what that was all about. She looked to the skies, anticipating something, but nothing ever came. "What was that?" She asked herself.

Geiney was walking home from school; he took the long route home, wanting time to think. He took the back alleys as he kicked the gravel roads. He felt a large wave of emotions fill him and he fell to his knees giving off a cry, breathing hard, practically sealed to the ground. His eyes watered at the feeling of it; something so sad but also warm and loving. When the wave stopped, he stood up and wiped his eyes, "What?" He looked around and decided to walk faster to his house.

Ailyn had her knees crossed and her fingers in the lotus position; she hovered above the ground in meditation. She felt a small gust of wind caress her face and felt at peace, something she hadn't felt in a long time since she stopped meditating, a bad habit to get into especially as a whitelighter. All of a sudden she fell hard to the floor as the unexpected wave of sadness hit her. She saw Luz in her mind and momentarily she panicked. She fell on her back, disoriented. She knew that voice calling out, to anyone and everyone. "Luz…" Something was happening and she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Nevertheless, she decided she needed to check it out.

"Die!" She didn't even know she screamed that, but she suddenly felt weak that she collapsed to her knees. She looked at the ring clutched tightly in her hands, "Brandon..." She whispered. Tears started to fall but of happiness, "Thank you." He was going to propose. The whole thought saddened her but she suddenly felt warm, as if someone had embraced her from behind. She looked behind her but no one was there. She let her barrier fall and she cried. She cried until she could no longer cry tears and when she stood up, she felt herself at peace, if only in the moment. She looked up to the heavens. "I love you." She said. For a split second, she heard a small jingle, as if responding to her. She chalked it up to a noise outside.

Losifer had just seen Mike and Gabbriel off and walked the small distance to his own quarters. The cavern was actually quite comfortable. It only took him a few minutes to reach his luxurious quarters and created a barrier leading to the outside. He liked his privacy; something even in his lifetime as a human so many centuries ago he treasured. He heaved a sigh.

"I wonder how long it'll take for Gabbriel to get the message across. Gabbriel does like to keep—" He was suddenly slammed violently into the wall like a magnet attracting a nail. He felt Gabbriel's power slam his entire body so fast, as if forced to drink water beyond the point of survival. He choked and sputtered and gasped for air. He was so disoriented that he swore he heard demonic chants in his head.

He stood on shaky legs as he continued to gag and cough.

"Oh damned demons of hell!" He coughed, "What in the damned hell was that!? Gabbriel's power poured into me way too quickly!" He breathed in repeatedly, deeply, almost wildly. "What the bloody hell did Gabbriel do?" He questioned as his hand reached for his throat. He was relieved he got his power from his contract ability, but why the hell was it slammed into his body like that? It almost felt as if Gabbriel had been erased from existence…


	12. The Mutiny Of The Power Sorcerers

"What the hell happened here?" Geiney asked, mouth agape and eyes wandering the now partially destroyed attic.

"A demon attacked your sister." Ailyn replied, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I vanquished him, and I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Fine?" Geiney stared at a peculiar human sized shape that had its arms protecting itself from something. "What is that?" He gestured to the shadow Gabbriel left in his destruction.

"That was Gabbriel, some demon who said he was watching us. I used my power to vanquish him, I guess."

"Vanquished? It looks to me like you erased him from this plane!" He exclaimed, his arms pointing at the bleached spot on the wall over exaggeratingly.

"Enough, you two! Everything is alright. I'm okay now." Luz started fingering the ring in her hand.

"What's that?" Ailyn asked.

"Brandon's engagement ring. The demon said he was going to propose." Luz said it in a deathly serious tone. Geiney lowered his hands as Ailyn looked away.

Luz smiled, much to the surprise of both Ailyn and Geiney. She continued to look down at the ring, examining it. She knew Brandon wasn't coming back but all she could feel in that moment was the happiness she felt for Brandon's gift.

"Okay, so let me say this back to you. This demon comes in, says his name is Gabbriel. He tells you we were being watched by their group. And then what?" Ailyn tried to clarify one last time.

"He gave me Brandon's ring. Said he was going to propose." Luz said it once more, beaming.

"And then?" Ailyn wanted to know more.

"Then I vanquished him."

"How are you taking this so lightly?" Ailyn asked.

"I mean… I did cry if that's what you're talking about. But I guess seeing this made me feel… loved. I don't really know how to explain it other than that; I felt Brandon's presence." There was a moment of silence.

Ailyn thought it over.

"Okay. So is there anything else we should know?" Geiney inquired.

"I don't think so…but I think we should look into the book to see if I can identify the demon." Luz mentioned offhandedly.

"Okay, you two do that, I'll give Sara a call." Ailyn doubted they'd find anything on someone so weak he could be erased.

Geiney interjected reluctantly, "Actually, Ailyn, can I talk to you for just a sec?"

Ailyn nodded. "Luz, you check out that book and see if you can find the demon that attacked you." Ailyn turned to leave the attic with Geiney in tow. Geiney suddenly stopped when he felt something was off with the attic.

"The hell happened to the door!?" He screeched, his hands patting the spot where the door used to be. He only saw the door hinges still in place.

"Oh… right. That's my fault. Aftermath of the battle." Luz shrugged.

"Me and Sara just fixed that door too!" He grunted in frustration, "Do you have any idea how long it took me to—" Ailyn came bounding in and dragged Geiney out by the ear. Geiney protested and tried to pull away from her grasp.

"Come on, you'll have time to bitch later." She said as he trailed out desperately trying to get out of her grasp.

Luz sighed and flipped the book open, and started looking through each page, careful to check out the names and faces of the drawings in the book.

"So what did you want to speak to me about?" Ailyn asked after shutting the door to their backyard leading into the house.

"Okay, so do you remember when I told you about my friends busting in and stealing that Athame?"

Ailyn nodded; she had met up with Geiney about something and figured something was up. When he showed her the note his friends had left she had almost flipped out. She promised not to say anything if he were to get the Athame back. Needless to say, the sisters didn't know anything about this yet.

"Well… Luke is not going to part with the weapon." Geiney braced himself for angry yelling, cowering slightly.

"What!?" She roared.

"Okay, I know this sounds bad but… I'm all out of options. It gets worse, though…" Geiney trails off.

"Why?" Ailyn demanded to know.

"…I have reason to believe he was actually attacked by a demon and he absorbed their powers… Good news is another demon's down. Bad news, Luke has demonic energy, now…" Geiney cringed even harder. He didn't even need her to remind him how bad this situation was, he already knew.

Ailyn took a slow deep breath and let it out slowly… if she could create an explosion around her, she would destroy the entire block from anger. She thought for a moment on what to do. This situation turned from bad to worse and if the Elders knew a human mortal held demonic powers in his hands they would freak out. She knew she needed to de-escalate the situation before it turned chaotic or worse, the Elders got involved.

"Okay, this is bad. Really bad. Worse than bad. Things can happen if we don't get that Athame back, Geiney." She scolded, "Mortals aren't meant to carry that kind of power. It always leads to their destruction or the destruction of others. Not to mention we have no idea what sort of effects those powers would do to his being."

"I know, I know. I messed up. Which is why I need your help." Geiney pleaded for her aid with his teary eyes.

"We have to tell your sisters." She strongly suggested.

"No. We can't tell them. They would freak out and cause a train wreck! My sisters would probably track him down and forcibly remove his powers." He sighed, "I don't want any of my friends to get hurt over this."

Ailyn crossed her arms over her chest in thought, _one thing after another_. She thought to herself.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. We will talk with him. If that fails, then we will tell your sisters and together we will find a solution to this problem. Deal?" Ailyn offered the best that she could, already hearing the scolding Sandra would unleash.

"Deal."

"Good. I'm going to call your sister and then I'm going to Wong's."

"Are you picking up lunch?" Geiney asked excitedly.

"No. I need guidance." She responded, opening the door and heading back into the house to call Sara.

Luke headed off near the track during the small break to think to himself. The last thing he expected to run into was a man in a full suit, a green tie around his neck with a blunt in one hand, "Name's Raviel, dude. Like your demon powers?"

Luke raised an eyebrow, "Demon powers? You mean... you know?"

Raviel nodded slowly, "Yuriel was a partner, kinda. Now he and Gabbriel are dead...

Losifer wants to recruit you for the job. That cool?"

"What job?"

"Killing the witches, of course. That pesky friend of yours and his sisters have killed four of us already. Jeremy, Alex, Gabbriel... that other dude." Raviel counted them off on his fingers, unable to do without.

Luke shook his head, "How high are you? You smoked all of that, didn't you?" Luke pointed to the empty baggies Raviel held in his arms.

Raviel's eyes widened, "No, you smoked all of it! Wait, that waaaas me... Sorry."

"You're not very wise, are you?" Luke remarked.

"Plus, Losifer's contracts are cool. If you die, he gets your powers! Unless they get absorbed, like you did to Yuriel..." Raviel revealed something shocking so casually that it didn't even phase Luke.

Luke brushed the bangs over his eye away, "How do you know that?"

Raviel smirked, "I listen, dude. He talks to himself like a... a movie villain or something. So lame. He sent me here to... get you to join him... Then, he kills you or... you die. And boom, he gets Yuriel's power... and whatever you have naturally, as a weak human."

"So he wants you to die as well, correct?" Luke asked for clarification, deciding what to do.

"...You're right. Rude." Raviel frowned in disgust, "And I worked so hard, too..."

Luke decided to handle this his way, "Take me to him. Together, you and I can take him out."

Raviel stepped back in confusion, "Betray him... Why?"

"You get to live on in the mortal realm after. Don't have to go and get killed for him if he's dead." Luke explained his reasoning.

"I get to... stay? Cool." Raviel nodded in agreement, "Let's go then!"

Luke outstretched a hand towards Raviel, "Shake on it?"

Raviel took his hand with glee, "Sure thing, man!"

Luke stepped into the cave system that Losifer and the other Power Sorcerers had all called home. He ignored the dusty floor and sensed around, "You sure this is the place?"

"You found him!" Losifer shimmered into the room in front of Luke, carrying that sinister grin of a villain.

"Losifer, I presume?" Luke responded somewhat dismissively.

Stepping forward, Luke watched Losifer carefully as he began to speak, "Great! Now that you're here, you can apply yourself!"

Raviel shimmered in behind Luke, "There's the boss. Go ahead and say hi."

Luke walked up to Losifer, glaring down at the hideous demon that supposedly led their operations.

"Alright, young man... What's your name?"

Raviel chimed in, "Luke, Master."

Losifer cringed, "Don't say that!"

Luke said nothing, watching Losifer as if a predatory falcon ready to dive bomb a newly released rabbit.

"Luke... Yes, you will work well with us, I presume. Now that you have tasted true power-" Luke raised his hand towards Losifer as if to stretch his hand, "Oh, yes, of course... Nice to meet yo-"

Grabbing Losifer by the throat and lifting him against the back wall, Luke jammed his Athame into Losifer's chest, beginning to siphon his power out bit by bit, reveling in the pained look on the monster's face.

"You can't... do this!" Losifer choked out, grabbing at Luke's hands desperately.

"Raviel told me your plans, Losifer... I am no pawn to trash like you..." Luke harshly reprimanded the villain as he continued to kill him slowly.

Losifer's eyes bulged and he pleaded with Raviel to help with his eyes. Raviel shrugged it off, "So sorry, Losifer. I just found out way too much..."

Losifer's body eventually slackened under Luke's grip, and with a flourish, let go of the empty air as the last wisps of black aura faded away into nothingness, "That was... empowering. I feel even stronger now..."

Raviel nodded, "The power to absorb contracts and the power to speak all languages are yours... And their base power, too..."

Silas walked in on the spectacle, sensing them, "What is... Who are you?"

"Raviel's new friend. And the new leader here, I guess..." Luke glanced down at his glowing hands, "Losifer's dead, and the contract's in my hands now."

Raviel nodded, "Gabbriel was so dumb... He forgot to warn the witches about Mike's meeting..."

Luke thought on that for a moment, "Then we'll deliver the message. But... Well, I want to stay out of this. Silas, this blade... It came from a demon that attacked the family, right?"

Silas, still unsure of Luke's presence, nodded, "Yes, a demon named Jeremy."

"Can you summon him? I have use of him."

Silas hesitated, but Raviel spoke up, "He's our boss now, right? Mike and I will get axed if you don't help."

Silas asked outright, "What use do you have of him?"

Luke thought for a moment, "I want him and Raviel to deliver the message. Jeremy can be used to distract them if they get rowdy. Raviel shouldn't have to die to get this message out."

"Are you certain you need me to summon Jeremy? I could go," Silas countered.

"I have... Losifer and Gabbriel and Yuriel in my body now. Their residual thoughts are... enlightening. You were Losifer's ploy to win... He would absorb the others and get you vanquished as well, or so he hoped..." Luke explained, though the thoughts were easily controlled, for now.

Silas shrugged, "I guessed as much. So he's dead just like that... That blade of yours, may I see it?"

Luke held it out, "Why, exactly?"

"I can upgrade it to absorb energy on contact. No need to hold it in or get a kill. You stab and get stronger. Might be useful," Silas explained as he siphoned energy from his own body to pour into the blade, refining it with a slicker edge.

Taking it back, Luke presented it to Raviel, "Any curses or traps?"

Raviel sniffed it, "Nah, it's legit. So Silas... up for summoning and then an adventure?"

Silas nodded, "As you wish..." he raised his arms, preparing to return Jeremy to life once more.

"That is great, Sara! I will fax an excuse to their division immediately. Thank you so much." Jack hung up the phone and Sara followed suit. She went back to her office; the first thing she was going to do was ask for the sound and video equipment from the fourth floor. Then she was going to rendezvous with her team to check the progress of their research and findings.

She flipped through her small contact book provided by the company. She found the number she was looking for and dialed the extension.

"Production equipment and maintenance. How can I help you?"

"Hi, my name's Sara Cuentas. I work with Troy in editing and directing here in Productions. Could you possibly tell me where I can request or pick up some sound and video equipment for a banquet in the banquet hall? I have no idea where I can get it myself."

"Don't worry, I can have someone set that up for you in Productions." He explained to her slowly and she mentally mapped where she needed to go.

"Excellent. And about how long until the equipment is ready?"

"Give us a day. We would have to remove the equipment from the warehouse, test the functionality, put it on a cart, and then invoice it to you so we know where the equipment is supposed to be."

"Thank you so much. I will pick it up tomorrow then. Do you need any more information from me?"

"No, thank you. It'll be there tomorrow around noon."

"Thank you again. Have a nice day." Sara hung up and mentally checked off the first item on her list.

She looked at the clock, judging her time and deciding what to do next. She wanted to call her friends, but she assumed they were still looking around for the stuff they were going to need. She bit her lip and decided to take a seat at her desk. She opened her desk and rummaged through the numerous files she kept. Finally she found the one she was looking for and pulled out a folder labeled "Banquet Drink Catalogue".

Troy walked in heaving an exasperated sigh. Sara smiled as she flipped through the catalogue.

"What's got you in a funk?" Sara asked, not looking up. She was used to multi-tasking and chatting with Troy.

"Oh! It's that vile boss of ours!"

"Jack?" Sara arched an eyebrow, "Oh, wait, I know. Patrick."

"I wish I could strangle him in his sleep!" His pitch only increased, adding to the visual aid of his frustration. He plopped himself down in the chair in front of Sara. Sara gave him a moment to calm down.

She opened the folder up and began reading a stack of papers stapled together. She read the beer and wine selections she could order as well as nonalcoholic drinks such as soda, coffee, and tea. She flipped through the book and circled a couple beers and wines she thought would go great for the type of dinner banquet they were having.

"Well, just ignore him, Troy. He's only doing it because he likes pushing your buttons. He likes seeing you this way." Sara explained.

"I know. That's what I don't like…" He whimpered.

"Troy," she looked up holding his gaze a moment, "Some people are homophobes and you just have to deal with it. I'm sorry I can't do more."

"I know this. I don't know why I'm letting him get to me. I just thought things would change since my school days, but it's always the same! I still feel out of place." He crossed his arms over his chest and displayed an angry pout.

Sara thought for a moment as she continued flipping through the book getting some other ideas and occasionally looking up a certain selection on the internet to find out what it was. She circled a few fountain drink selections and coffee was a must for the event.

Sara looked up at Troy, "Hey, what have I told you about showing that face?" She mock scolded him, and a small smile replaced that pout. "You are a strong and independent man, Troy. You have become the number one artist in teen's fashion design, and the first man to accomplish three diva medals at the national fashion show! All of the other people who try to ridicule you are jealous of your skill. Nobody can talk you down, and I mean nobody; not the bullies, not the homophobes, and certainly not Patrick." She spoke, a speech she often used when trying to cheer Troy up.

"You're right! The hell with Patrick! I have been with this company for twenty-two years! I started working when I was nineteen! I helped build this company when Mr. McAllister was struggling. Patrick is beneath me!" He posed like a superhero and Sara smiled.

Troy laughed and sat down, "Thank you, Sara. I needed to hear that, girlfriend."

"Anytime, Troy." She smiled and went back to her work.

She circled green tea, black tea, and Darjeeling as her top tea selections. When she was finally happy with her selections, she typed up a rough copy of the list in her computer and saved it on her desktop.

Troy, pumped up after Sara's speech, began pacing back and forth and then finally broke out, "I'm going to tell that big bully who's the real boss around here!" He opened the door, a bit too forcefully, so that the photos hanging up slapped the wall.

"You tell him, Troy!" Sara cheered. Troy slammed the door and Sara only shook her head. Sometimes she felt she was taking care of a child in an adult body, but she loved Troy to death even in his worst of times. He had done the same for her when she began starting out in the company. He helped shape her into the confident woman she was now.

Only Troy seemed to have seen the goldmine in her; nobody else had wanted to work with Sara fresh out of college. With no experience, she couldn't seem to land a job anywhere. She smiled a bit at the memory. Abstraks every year held internships for new artists. Sara applied and landed a spot along with fifty other people. Troy oversaw the internships and out of the fifty more qualified personnel, he picked Sara and another applicant. Sara thought for sure she was fighting a losing battle as her opponent appeared to be ten times more confident, had the experience, spoke like a prodigy, and could produce brilliant pieces of art.

However, when it came to their final round in the battle, Troy in the end picked Sara. Mr. McAllister, Jack's father who ran the company at the time, raised an eyebrow. He read both of their résumés and even he would have picked Sara's opponent over her. When Troy called for a meeting with Mr. McAllister for the approval to bring Sara to the company, Mr. McAllister asked Troy why he would pick her. His response was a confident smile, "Because she knows how to handle clients. She may not have been at the same artistic level as her opponent, but she can handle people. A quality I look for over artistic skill."

Mr. McAllister nodded, trusting in Troy's abilities as the fresh head of that division. Since then Sara only grew along with the company. Troy held patience for the young artist and Sara only learned both from her mistakes and watching Troy. Never had she ever heard Troy say she had let him down and she planned never to hear him say it. A knock at her door startled out of her trance.

She was about to answer the knock when the door opened abruptly and in waltzed Eva, her pet peeve.

"Sara," She greeted her in her fake cheery voice, something that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"Eva Scott. To what pleasure do I owe this unexpected visit?" She replied with a bit of sarcasm.

"I just wanted to see if you needed any help with the banquet hall? I have worked three years in a decorative company myself so I'm certain I could be of better help than your… associates," Eva practically spat the last word out.

Sara tried to understand what Eva was talking about. Was she trying to say she already had a plan for the banquet hall?

"Don't worry about the banquet hall; we're taking care of it now as we speak. But thank you for offering a hand. If I need you I will definitely give you a call." She began to gesture to the door when she was stopped by Eva.

"But you haven't even heard of my suggestions. Besides, I have it all drawn out right here in this book," She shoved a sketchbook in Sara's hands and opened it up to the first page. "You see, I was thinking this would be a very formal and elegant event. So I want everything to be gold, silver, or platinum-colored or made. Preferably made because we don't want to look cheap in front of the other executives."

"Eva—" Sara was cut off so fast that she almost took it as a slap to the face.

"Wait, I'm not done yet! Since this is going to be HealthyLife, we should definitely have a giant cutout head of the owner of the company. She _is_ said to be the most beautiful woman of all time. We can have her here." She pointed at the sketchbook.

"Eva, I—" Sara was not amused by being interrupted again, and Eva only seemed to be enjoying it even further.

"And then here," She flipped the page and it showed the setting of the banquet room from the stage's point of view. "Every table must be covered with a white silk or white Egyptian cotton table cloth and must have a table standing candelabra."

"Eva!" Sara shouted, interrupting Eva. "Thank you so much for your ideas. But if you want to have your ideas approved you should visit Jack and Patrick. I'm only here in this position because they agreed to put it on me. I'm sure if you speak with them they will approve of your plans."

"Do you really think so?"

 _No… I just want you out of my office_. She thought to herself, "Yes, I do." She voiced.

"Then I will go ahead and show them my plans. Thanks, Sara."

"Anytime." She smiled and when she left the office Sara groaned, "Sorry, Jack, Patrick." She muttered to herself.

Her phone began ringing in her desk.

"Hello, this is Sara. How may I help you?" She greeted.

"Sara, it's Ailyn. Do you think you can come home now? We have demonic trouble." She wanted to explain the entire situation but she suddenly felt this would be better explained in person and not on the phone.

"What demonic trouble?" She needed to know.

"A demon by the name of Gabbriel showed up and attacked Luz. She vanquished him, and everyone is alright. She is ID'ing the demon now as we speak but I think we're going to need everyone for this one."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

Sara groaned, "Why can't I ever have an easy day?" She asked to the heavens hoping some higher power heard her pleas.

Charlie was reluctant to meet Sherry, Shera, and Ruby in person without Luke. After seeing their small meeting at the basketball court and occasionally cursing out at him, he realized he had to talk to them outright about Luke while downplaying his relatively new attitude. Luke had always messed with him, but he had never displayed such sporty abilities before.

Lea led Charlie to the lunch table where he spotted an unexpected guest, "Alice?"

"Charlie, it's good to see you!" Alice brought Charlie in for a hug, "Lea's introducing you to his friends, too?"

Charlie gave Lea a sideways glare, "I guess so..."

"You hang out with that one guy," Ruby stood up, "What was it... Luke?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine and Geiney's," Charlie answered her, "He's normally not like that."

Sherry smiled widely, "That was pretty fun!"

Ruby glanced back at her, "His speed was... inhuman. Even if I could have outpaced him, how would I have looked?"

"You're already near superhuman," Lea interjected, "Everyone knew this the moment you tossed Cain."

Charlie seated himself next to Alice and Shera, sitting across from Ruby, Sherry, and Lea, "Oh, and you are?"

Shera smiled, "Cain's younger sister, Shera. Nice to meet you, Charlie."

"Hey..." Charlie quickly looked away, thinking to himself how cute she was. Cain, huh? That king of the dicks jock that tricked Garrett into the fire challenge and posted it on Facebook this morning?

"Don't worry, he won't bother you," Shera reassured him, "He's not really out to protect me from the rabble like my mother does."

Sherry stared at her, "Mother?"

Shera stumbled over her words in response, "O-oh, yeah, she's a little overprotective. Stifling, even."

"So that's why you've never dated?" Lea winked with a knowing smile, "I have an idea, after all."

Ruby cut him off, "Stop there, Lea. I'm not in the mood for your matchmaking."

Lea frowned, "But my plans work, right!? Why can't I help you guys out? If Alice just listened to me, Geiney'd be hers!"

Alice blushed wildly and knocked Lea over with a push, "Shut up, shut up!"

Charlie laughed, "I figured that's how it was."

"No, it's not-!" Realizing that everyone was giving her a smug grin, she relented, "You guys are..."

"And Ruby... There's a boy interested in you that I know of now," Lea grinned with childish malice.

Ruby folded her arms, "Better stop yourself."

Lea turned to Charlie, "Want to tell her or should I?"

Charlie sighed, reluctantly admitting to part of the meeting's objective, "Luke, uh... Well, he may have a thing for you. Showed some concern for you before, and seems generally nervous near you. Probably why he wanted to flake on your match."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Another boy after me, is it?" She sounded disillusioned with the prospect at this point.

"Well, I don't know... He does gawk, but he never says anything about it. He was worried, though. That you might disappear like... Alex."

Alice grumbled under her breath, "Grubby bitch..."

"Why the hostility?" Lea teased, "I mean, you said you don't like Geiney, riiight?"

"I never... Oh, I see your game. Too bad, mister!" Alice bopped him on the nose, "I didn't say anything either way, understand?"

Ruby capitulated finally, "Alex, huh? He paid attention to that as well, then. He never said anything suspicious during our game either... And his demonstration of skill was very interesting to say the least."

Shera warmed up to the idea, "Ruby, you did say you wanted to talk to more reasonable guys, right?"

"Reasonable may not be the... best word choice," Charlie commented mostly to himself, "He's got a lot of heart, but his life's not the best right now."

"That so?" Ruby picked up on that, "Something you can't help with?"

Charlie folded his arms, "Well, his dad's sick. On top of that, his mom's in love with some other dude and their house is falling apart. He may have nowhere to go, and living with me will be painful... My mom is... one of a kind."

"Well, he could live with us if necessary," Sherry answered excitedly, "Our parents have a big house, right, Lea!?"

Lea snickered, "You're just curious about him, aren't you?"

Sherry whistled nonchalantly, opting not to respond to her brother's implications.

"Isn't it weird to tell us about it?" Shera asked, scratching her head, "Wouldn't he want to do it himself?"

Charlie nodded, "You'd think, but he has no talent for it. Never dated someone before, just like Geiney."

"So I'd be first?" Alice whispered to herself. Lea's ears twitched in her direction as he grinned devilishly.

Ruby sighed, "I can talk to him. Nothing to lose, right?"

"See, Ruby! I am a matchmaker!" Lea exclaimed.

"It's not like that," Ruby dismissed him easily, "Just need to get this into the open whether it's true or not. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sherry poked her shoulder, "But you don't look upset, do you?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "See previous comment."

Charlie thought to himself as Lea and Sherry teased Ruby further; _how did this work?_

Geiney walked back into the attic to see if Luz found anything on the idiot. As he walked in he couldn't help but to stop and admire the shadowy figure of a once dumb demon.

"Well, I didn't find the exact name in the book nor anything that would resemble their little group." Luz explained to Geiney. "Where's Ailyn?"

"At Wong's. She needs guidance." He answered her question, standing next to her.

"But she's a Whitelighter." She retorted.

"Whitelighters need guidance too. Look who she has to deal with." Geiney gestured to Luz who could only laugh and put a hand to her hip.

"Yeah, but the little nightmare standing in front of me was much worse." Geiney hummed and smiled.

"Touché." He gave Luz a one armed embrace; he was glad she was back to her normal self. At least it looked like she was back to her normal self. Geiney couldn't tell, but Ailyn had been right earlier. Maybe this is what she needed.

Geiney glanced down at the book and noticed she went from the demons section to friendly creatures. The first page was Allies and Familiars. "These guys must be tough if they're not in the book." Both he and Luz looked up at the bleached spot on the wall.

"Yeah, tough. Keep telling yourself that." Luz poked at Geiney.

"Okay, just because I never atomic-bombed a demon before doesn't mean I never will." He defended himself.

Luz rolled her eyes at the comment, "I'm calling Wong's. You want anything?"

"The usual. Chicken Fried Rice. Thank you."

"You're not coming?"

"I'm gonna check the book for something. I kinda improvised my vanquishing with Jeremy and I don't think I'll be lucky the next time I'm alone with a demon." He explained but his curiosity was poking at him about the page.

Luz nodded, understanding what he wanted to do. "Come downstairs when you finish."

Geiney nodded and started thumbing through the book. "Summoning a familiar?" He glanced at the hand drawn pictures on the book illustrating a Siamese cat, a Mau cat, a golden retriever, and a Siberian husky.

"Familiars are helpful creatures who aid and guide witches in their craft. This is often seen with witches who are new to the craft. Contrary to popular myth, familiars aren't always cats, but a variety of animals such as dogs, wolfs, rabbits, etc. All familiars possess the gift of sensing, the ability to sense different energies such as good and evil, and zoolingualism, the ability to communicate with other animals. Depending on the familiar, they may have other abilities such as a cat has heightened agility and a dog has enhanced strength." Geiney read from the book aloud.

"This spell will summon a familiar that will hear your call. If your familiar accepts the call they will find you and be your guide. Take good care of your familiars and they will take care of you. It is unwise to reject your familiar once it appears to you."

Geiney looked around. No one was around. He gave a small playful smirk. He could use the help…

Geiney read the page once more. It was a simple calling spell from what he saw. All he needed was his voice. He took a moment to ready himself for such a spell. He calmed his mind and felt his body and his powers.

"Angels of the lord grant me power of thee, an enchanted power to work beside me, to help, to aid and to be my guide, protect me from evil and walk by my side."

Geiney sensed that the room felt suddenly electric, he felt the hairs on his body stand up before he saw a transparent shockwave be sent out, with no sound. There wasn't much of a vibration to the attic, it almost felt as if the floor was vibrating slightly but that was all that happened.

Geiney waited a minute; then another before he looked around. Everything was the same.

"Maybe I need to go outside…" He thought to himself. _Yeah, maybe that would help_ , he thought to himself. He fixed his still electrified hair and walked down the stairs two at a time. Zipping straight past Luz in the kitchen who didn't even notice the boy running at full speed.

"Where are you going?" Sherry raised an eye brow at her brother.

"Alice gave me directions to a friend's house. I was just going to visit him." He responded, reaching for the doorknob of the house.

Sherry flashed a knowing grin, "Could it be Geiney you're looking for?"

Lea hesitated and it was enough to confirm her suspicions. "No, just a friend." He tried to cover.

"Too late. You hesitated, bro." She laughed while Lea sighed, "Besides, did you think I wouldn't notice your constant investigation of the boy at school?"

"I just… want to see him real quick. He keeps fascinating me every time something weird happens. I saw his face at the court today when Luke was playing basketball. There's just something about him that excites and intrigues me."

"Uh huh. Are you sure you're not playing matchmaker for yourself? I need to get you back for the last time you tried to set me up with someone. How about I lock Geiney and you in the same room together; say for three hours?" She turned to look at Lea's blushing face. She snickered.

"I'm just teasing, jeez. You don't have to turn so red." She ruffled his hair adding to his slow torment.

"I'm not red!" He whined but his blush only darkened.

He cleared his throat, "Can I go now? I know I deserve this but can't you pay me back later?"

Sherry rolled her eyes at how childish he was acting.

"Fine. Just don't stay out too late."

"Will do." He smiled at her and closed the door behind him.

He took a deep breath, summoned his power and transformed himself into his cat form. He shook his entire fluffy body. Given his family heritage, his feline form was a European wild cat with amber brown eyes.

 _Time to find Geiney's house,_ he thought to himself. He must remember to keep himself quiet. He almost exposed himself at school thanks to Geiney's comment and his eagerness to agree with him. He rolled his eyes and continued walking to his house. He spent a good deal wandering around until he neared his destination. He turned the corner to the street and read the street name.

 _So the next street over is where Geiney lives. I was told brown looking house on the right. It would be weird if I saw Alice there._ For some reason that thought didn't sit right with him.

His ear twitched and he suddenly stopped to a halt. His entire being in a moment felt like static, his fur standing on end; he felt a familiar sensation as if he were going to sneeze. He felt a small shockwave hit him but he shook it off. He looked around. The few people in the streets around him didn't even seemed disturbed by the shockwave. Did they not feel it? Was he the only one that felt it?

 _What in the world was that all about?,_ he questioned. He sneezed. _This feels like something is calling me. But why?_ He strutted in his cat form, his tail upright and his mind filling with questions. He turned the corner, looking to the right and finding the house that resembled Alice's description. He jumped in between the metal bars of the picket fence which were just big enough for him to fit in.

He wandered around the front end of the property and found that one of the trees could provide easy access to one of the windows. He climbed up on the tree with extreme ease. He walked the thin branch that resembled a bridge to him at the moment. Halfway there, he lost his grip, slipped from the tree and fell straight to the ground with an audible oof.

 _Owie… smooth Lea. Real smooth._ He got up and shook himself off, throwing dust and leaves to and fro, willing the short burst of pain to go away.

"Oh my god. I found you." He heard a voice cry out. He turned to the source and saw Geiney standing in the yard.

 _Uh oh… I hope he didn't see that._

"Are you my familiar?" He asked the cat, kneeling on the grass.

 _Familiar?_ Lea questioned.

"It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you." Lea mentally shrugged and walked towards the boy kneeling on the ground.

Lea meowed. _Hi, Geiney._ Lea mentally translated in his head.

"So my spell actually worked?" He petted the cat who began purring.

 _Spell?_ Lea questioned. He began wandering what Geiney was talking about, _Wait… it can't be…_ Lea began formulating theories in his head.

Geiney hesitated but eventually picked the cat up and cradled it in his arms. Lea, the cat, meowed his approval.

Geiney walked back to the house. He found Luz in the hallway and before anything was even said came Luz's final response.

"No."

"Oh, come on! I haven't even asked you anything yet!"

"I know what you're going to ask and no. Where did you find that cat anyways? You don't even know where it's been." She leaned against the wall, eyes going between the cat, who looked rather clean for a stray, and her brother.

"It came to me after I cast a familiar spell." Geiney argued. Luz tilted her head, already planning her counter and a good scolding.

 _So this means Geiney and his sisters are witches. That explains some of the weird things that has been going around lately._ Lea thought to himself.

"What?"

"I cast a familiar spell and I found this cat outside. I called it over and it came to greet me. Can we keep him or her?"

 _Him. Definitely him._ Lea put in.

"You cast a spell? Geiney, what were you thinking? You don't know the side effects of that spell!"

"It was just a simple summoning spell! Besides, what harm could come from summoning a familiar."

"If the spell backfired you could have done something to yourself!" Luz reminded him.

"But it didn't. Look; this cat is the proof of it."

Luz exhaled slowly, thinking it over.

"Besides, pets and familiars are different species, right? Pets are your companions while familiars protect and guide you. If I can't have a pet, can I keep my familiar?"

Luz thought it over; Geiney made a good point. She thought back to when she had a familiar when she was starting out. They didn't use a spell to summon their familiars; rather quite the opposite. They had asked certain animals if they would be their familiars. Hers was a rabbit named Cinderpaw, while Sara's was a fox whom she named Firefennec.

"Very well. I'll let you keep your familiar."

"Yes!" Geiney cried. Lea meowed twice, and pawed playfully at Luz, his own way of thanking her. Not that he could do much in this form anyways.

 _Thank you!_ he mentally cried.

"So, what are you going to name it?" Luz held a hand out and Geiney handed Lea to her. She checked something and looked back at Geiney, "Him. What are you going to name him?" If Lea could blush in cat form, he would be crimson.

Lea was silently disappointed Geiney didn't check himself.

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it. I'll think of a name." Luz pet the purring Lea, who enjoyed the gentle caresses.

 _Why does this always feel good in cat form?_ He thought to himself.

The door opened and Sara walked in.

"What's happened and who do we have to off?" She saw Luz holding a cat. "Actually, explain the cat."

"Geiney cast a familiar spell and this cat seems to have answered his call. I won't allow pets but I will allow familiars."

"Okay. What are you going to name it?"

"I don't know what I'm going to name him yet. I'll think of a name today though." Sara gave the cat a quick pet, Lea meowed.

"Alright, now that you're here you can tell me what you want because we are ordering Wong's today." They walked into the kitchen and Geiney started for his Room.

"Geiney! After dinner we are taking your familiar to get some basic supplies and food. He may be a familiar but he still needs to eat." Sara called out.

"Okay!" He agreed. He set Lea down on the ground, "Come on. Follow me."

"Okay!" He meowed and followed Geiney to one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Lea felt somewhat excited and nervous at the same time. He hadn't even introduced himself in person to Geiney yet, and yet here he was being taken to his room. Where he was left all alone with Geiney… Lea shook the improper and vulgar thoughts from his minds. Gods, why was he thinking like this?

 _So this is what his room looks like._ Lea's eyes wandered around the room. He had a simple bed in one corner of the room and next to it was a bedside table. A wardrobe was placed on another corner of the room and next to that was a desk equipped with a lamp and a laptop. On either side of the table stood a hamper and a trash bin.

"Come on." Geiney patted his knees after sitting down on the bed.

Lea jumped over and landed on the bed in one leap. He laid in Geiney's lap.

"Let's see… Would you like Oscar as your name?" Lea looked up and shook his head no.

"No, thank you. Last time I met somebody named Oscar he pulled my tail really hard…"

"How about Tiger?"

Another no.

"How about Simba?"

Lea mentally raised his eyebrow. "Do I look like a Simba to you?" another no.

"Coco?"

Lea hesitated. He kind of liked the name, but he couldn't see himself responding to the name. No.

"Jasper…?"

Silas looked up at the name of the restaurant; Wong's. Raviel recommended this place as the number one spot to eat. He said the owner was a powerful sorcerer, but he couldn't use his powers in a public place like that. Silas had never eaten Chinese food before so he was curious as to what it was. The whole town looked so different. This was definitely a different setting, a different time.

He looked back down at himself. Raviel insisted he wear this into town today. He wore a plain white T-shirt, ripped jeans which he never understood the purpose of, and sneakers. He felt rather uncomfortable in the attire he was wearing. He guessed it was because he wasn't used to wearing things like this. Thirty years wearing nothing but a tunic seemed to have done that to him.

"I guess I have to go in…" He trailed off when he saw a lone woman walking towards the restaurant. He recognized her instantly; Ailyn. Her blonde hair jumped as she walked with confidence as if she were on a mission. He watched her pull the door open and walk in. He gave a small smile. This was definitely a pleasant surprise.

He walked in after her. She stood waiting to be seated. He approached her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"So what would you recommend to eat?" Ailyn turned and stood frozen. It was the same man that she saw at Abstraks when the elevator collapsed. She couldn't help but stare at his blue eyes that matched the color of the sky on a clear day. She quickly snapped out of her trance.

"You must be following me." She smiled, Silas momentarily lost his train of thought. Had she been paying attention? "You were at Abstraks a couple days ago when the elevator collapsed, remember?"

"Ah, yes. I thought you looked familiar. My mind doesn't allow me to forget such a pretty face."

Ailyn smiled at the compliment. "My name is Ailyn. Pleased to meet you." She held her hand out and he shook it.

"I'm… Jude."

The actual name that came to mind wasn't something he felt he should use for reasons he couldn't yet say. "Likewise, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I've been wondering about you since we met near that elevator." He hoped he didn't botch the way he pronounced it.

"Are you new here in town?" She asked.

"Yes, you could say that. I transferred from—" His mind was quick to think of the only few places he had remembered, "Aleppo. I was born here but grew up in Aleppo."

The hostess appeared and asked if they wanted a table for two.

"Yes, please." Ailyn spoke for Silas. They were seated at a booth for two people and quickly were brought two waters.

"So what's your favorite Chinese dish?" Ailyn didn't think twice about asking. She liked hearing about other people's tastes and their preferences.

"Actually, that was what I was going to ask you. I have never eaten Chinese cuisine in my life."

Ailyn let out a gasp, "Oh my God!" She talked excitedly for a moment speaking about each dish giving off a different flavor. "Do you like spicy foods?" She lowered her menu down to look at his face who showed he was a bit lost and unsure of what she was talking about.

"I enjoy spicy foods." Since he has become what many people refer to as demons, he became acquainted with certain cuisines. While he enjoyed the Greek, Egyptian, and Arab cuisines, he absolutely loved their spicy dishes. Some spicy, some salty, only adding to the kick while others were sweet and spicy, giving off a distinct and clever combination of different tastes.

"Then you should try the chef's personal favorite: Spicy Moo Goo Gaipan."

"Spicy goo goo what?" He blinked; the name sounded so foreign to him.

Ailyn laughed, "Moo. Goo. Gai-pan." She slowed her pronunciation. "Don't worry, I'll order it for you."

The waitress arrived and Ailyn placed two orders of the spicy dish. For a drink she ordered some tea and Silas hearing something familiar decided to order the same drink.

"So what were you doing at Abstraks the other day?" She started the conversation.

"Oh, I was just applying for a job. I was called in for an interview but they cancelled on me the moment the elevator collapsed." He shrugged, thinking how to go about this new lie.

"I see. What were you applying for?"

He had no direct answer for that; he thought for a second on the most reasonable response he thought would be the best answer.

"I believe my interview was to see in what division they were going to put me. My preferred position would be security, but I would have been willing to do any position." On the subject of blending in, it was Raviel who thought the best way for Silas to get back into the present was for him to get a job with the mortals. When Silas asked Raviel why he wasn't working with the mortals, his only was response was a slow inhale on his joint.

"Because I already blend in all too well," was his response, all the while letting the smoke out of his lungs slowly.

"So it's my turn. What were you doing in Abstraks?" Silas directed the same question to her.

"I was picking up a friend. I consider her my sister more than a friend though." She responded before taking a sip from her tea. The black tea felt good as it ran down her throat.

If they could, Silas' ears would be lifting themselves up at the topic. This was his chance to get information in an innocent manner rather than watching them day and night, something he found quite tedious. He would often roam about; even before he was imprisoned, he hated monitoring targets.

"They?" He asked, prodding her to clarify.

"Sorry," she chuckled, "My siblings not related by blood, are Luz, Sara, and Geiney. Sara is the oldest at twenty-six, Luz is next at twenty-two and Geiney is the youngest. He is only fifteen years old." She answered. He hummed, showing he was listening to her.

"And how old are you? You look rather young still." She smiled at his compliment. If he only knew her exact age he would freak out.

"Thirty-one." She answered.

Silas gasped. "No. You look in your early twenties still." She blushed a little at his compliment.

"Thank you. You look like you're in your early thirties. May I guess thirty?"

"Close enough. I'm actually thirty five." _If only you knew how old I actually were. You would think me insane._ He thought to himself.

Silas scolded himself; he would have to remember all of this later. For some reason he couldn't pull himself away from her presence. He felt like he knew this feeling once, but that was a long time ago. Just trying to think of the name of this feeling was starting to give him a headache.

The food arrived as he was thinking which broke his concentration. _I'm sure I'll remember the name of this feeling later._ Silas thought. Ailyn thanked the server and encouraged 'Jude' to take a bite.

Their dish's name translated to sliced chicken with mushrooms. The owner added snow peas, bamboo shoots and bok choy. The dish was made with sautéing the chicken and mushrooms and everything else was added shortly after. The owner added his own spices to the dish and topped it off with a splash of the Wong Sauce. The dish was overall a tangy sweet and spicy meal.

Ailyn grabbed her fork and stabbed it into her food; she watched with bated breath as Silas sniffed the food and moved some of the contents around. After examining the food, he grabbed the fork and poked the bok choy and other vegetables. The closer he brought the mixture of chicken and lettuce to his mouth, his mouth started to water more and more. The smell was exquisitely divine and one taste was all he needed to be enraptured by this delicious meal. His mind had confirmed the dish was delicious and spicy, but not too overwhelmingly spicy it couldn't be enjoyed. The dish held a perfect balance of flavor and spice to it.

Ailyn smiled; she patted herself on the back. She was good at reading people and judging their tastes. She was glad he enjoyed the food because he didn't hesitate to hork the food down his throat.

They had a pleasant conversation during their meal about things 'Jude' was doing in Aleppo. All Silas could do was tell Ailyn the things he enjoyed doing back before he was imprisoned, leaving out anything demonic, angelic or otherwise. He explained how he loved telling stories of his adventures, and how he liked to prank other people which was something Ailyn smiled about, finding it amusing.

"So will I get to see you more often?" 'Jude' asked. Ailyn hesitated in responding.

"You might see me here and there. But more often than not we visit this restaurant frequently. You could try your luck and visit one evening. Maybe destiny would allow us to meet once more" She teased, winking at him.

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves." He responded, trying to be clever. Silas had been given several books by Raviel to acquaint himself with modern terminology. Who knew a lazy pot smoker found solace in Shakespearean tragedies? Silas figured he could have been one.

She recognized that quote all too well, "Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare." She blushed.

"However, if you believe we are destined to meet again; let it be so."

Ailyn cleared her throat, "I'll take care of the bill." She grabbed the bill from the table and held her hand out. "It was a great pleasure to meet you, 'Jude' I hope we get to do it again."

"And I hope I get to see thy beautiful face once more." He gave a slight bow. Ailyn felt her face grow warm. Why couldn't she stop blushing? Did she turn into a school girl again, falling in love with the cute boy? She mentally kicked herself, reminding herself of the promise she made many years ago about falling in love with men.

"I will visit this restaurant more often." He agreed, "In the hopes of seeing thy beauty once more." He winked at her, teasing her. She looked away in embarrassment.

One of the employees noticed Wong staring at one of the clients. "Is something the matter, boss?" She asked in Mandarin Chinese.

"It's just one of the clients. The one talking to the angel. What do you make of him?" Wong asked in his particular dialect of Chinese, trying to ensure no one could easily pick up what he was saying. Wong opened up a Chinese restaurant in a less diverse town for a reason; so no one could interpret his talks with his students. Unbeknownst to the normal crowd, Wong only hired students who were training in sorcery to help him around the restaurant. His current employee watched the aura around the man. It was a mix of colors, something she rarely ever saw.

"I can't tell. He has a mix of colors. I can't tell you if he is good or evil. It's like his aura isn't sure either…" Wong hummed, acknowledging what she told him. Even Wong couldn't decide if that was good or bad. Every demon and angel knows not to start trouble in his restaurant. He was the only restaurant in this town that held a neutral ground.

"As long as he doesn't start trouble, he is welcome here." He noticed Ailyn wave the check in front of her and he noticed her blush too. This was a situation he didn't know what to do. "Go ahead and cash her out, please." She nodded and went to do as instructed. He went back inside the kitchen, his mind on the new gentlemen. He was not a regular; that much he knew immediately.

After Ailyn was cashed out and Silas had left the restaurant, she had decided to ask for Wong.

"He is in the back. Go ahead." One of the employees responded in English. When she went back there, he was taste testing the soups that were on the burners.

"Hello, Wong." She smiled, speaking in Mandarin, his preferred language.

"Hello, Ailyn." He greeted back, smiling over his shoulder, "What can I do for you today?"

"I need some guidance…"

"I don't know. I really like Jasper." Geiney spoke, booping the cat on the nose. He was laying on his side with the cat in front of him, petting the soft cat gently. Lea meowed; the more he thought about it, the more the name Jasper rang nicely in his head.

Two meows.

"Hm? Jasper?" He repeated.

Meow. The cat swayed his tail back and forth and seemed to be very happy.

Geiney chuckled, "Jasper it is then."

"Geiney!" Sara knocked on the door.

"We spoke with Ailyn at the restaurant. She'll be bringing us food soon. Come down stairs."

"Coming!"

"Come on, Jasper." Lea, who would now be known as Jasper in the Cuentas household, meowed and stayed curled up in Geiney's arms.

"So did you come up with a name for your familiar?" She asked reaching a hand out and petting the gentle creature.

"Yes. Meet Jasper."

The two siblings began chatting and Jasper innocently craned his neck to look around. He read the clock and began to worry a bit. He was supposed to head home soon… If his sister followed him and saw him in cat form, she would know why he was late. He just hoped his sister wouldn't interfere with the family.


	13. Don't Vanquish The Messenger Twice

**Chapter Thirteen: Don't Vanquish the Messenger**

Geiney sat on the floor with Jasper in his lap. Geiney used a Fur-minator brush to remove all of the fur Jasper would be shedding. Geiney stroked the brush along the cat gently, smoothly. He took his time since this was his first time brushing a cat. Jasper, however, seemed to be enjoying the grooming. Jasper purred continuously, evenly as he lay in between Geiney's crossed legs. Every now and then Jasper would stretch when the brush reached a certain point on his tiny furry body.

"I have to stop being so afraid of grooming you." Geiney commented.

Meow. Jasper replied, reassuring Geiney that everything was alright.

Geiney heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in!" He replied, not taking his eyes off his work. The door opened and in walked Alice.

"When did you get a cat?" She asked, and Geiney looked up.

"Hi, Alice." He greeted, he waved the brush causing some fur to fly around.

Jasper, stood up and stretched, _what is Alice doing here?_ He thought to himself.

Alice, in familiar territory, sat herself down on his bed.

"We just got him yesterday. He was always around our yard and he was friendly enough so we adopted him." Not even true, but it was something he rehearsed for such an occasion.

"What's his name?"

"Meet Jasper." Geiney picked the cat up and brought it up on the bed, sitting next to Alice.

Meow. _You don't know me, but I know you. Hello, again._ He began cautiously sniffing at Alice. He studied her for a moment before he brought himself closer to Alice.

"I think he likes you." Geiney commented.

 _Well, that's questionable, Geiney. Define, like. Because I don't know what to make of this._

Alice brought her hand down in front of Jasper. Jasper sniffed cautiously, then gave her finger a lick. He approved of Alice being there. She began to pet Jasper once he stepped closer to her.

"What are you doing here?" Geiney asked.

"I came to see you. I was in the area and thought I'd hit you up. Looks like I came at the right time. Besides, I want your cat to know me as a friend."

 _As long as she isn't a demon in girl's clothing I'm fine with it. It would be a shame if she were one, kinda like a shapeshifter. Hehe._ Jasper chuckled to himself.

"Well, it is nice of you to drop by." Geiney smiled; he saw Alice give off a different type of smile. One he recognized.

"I take it you dropping by just to see me isn't what's on your mind, is it?"

"You can tell?" Alice was genuinely surprised since she always assumed Geiney was too thick headed to see other people's feelings.

"We've known each other since kindergarten. Of course I would know when something is bothering you." He replied while looking at her. Geiney's hand continued to scratch behind Lea's ear.

"Have you noticed something weird with Luke? He doesn't seem like himself. He has this newfound confidence about him." Geiney stopped, his mind reeling to come up with something to respond to her question. He opted out for a weak joke.

"Confidence isn't bad." He gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah, but Luke all of a sudden gets into sports and showing off. Brittany from cheerleading told me how he destroyed our basketball team. By himself." She stressed.

Geiney stopped petting Jasper, feigning surprise.

"Woah! By himself?"

She nodded, "I didn't know he was that good. Was he always that good? I genuinely remember him being afraid of the ball."

"I'm sure he's been practicing. I mean our basketball team isn't that good to begin with. I'm sure you and Brittany yourselves can trash the basketball team."

Alice thought about it, "I don't know. This all seems a bit too weird for me. Why all of a sudden? Like what does it mean when you're not good at sports but suddenly you are?"

"Maybe he was hiding his talent?" Geiney tried. Alice shrugged. A small pause caused Lea to jump on Alice's lap, seemingly to want the attention. Unbeknownst to either of the humans, Lea was giving Geiney an out.

"Your cat sure likes attention." She smiled.

Meow.

"I guess he does. He doesn't want me to stop grooming him." He waved the brush again.

"So I met a new friend the other day." She said, accepting the brush from Geiney's outstretched hand.

"Who did you meet? Was it romantic?" Geiney teased, but Alice scoffed.

 _I mean she did ask me for advice, Geiney. I wonder if you're as thickheaded as she makes you out to be._

"His name is Lea," Jasper perked his ears upwards at the mention of his real name, "He's a pretty cool guy. He introduced me to his friends. They're all fun to hang out with. By the way, Ruby is that girl that beat up Cain, if you were wondering." She pointed out.

"Remind me to thank her." Geiney said and Alice laughed, "I was serious."

"They wanted to meet you and Luke. I should introduce you guys the next time I see them."

Geiney nodded his approval, "Alright. If they're your friends, then they're mine too." There was another break in conversation, but this time it was more comfortable silence than anything.

"You never told me how you got to befriend a cat." She reminded him.

He gave a small awkward chuckle, "There's not much to tell, you know. He was just wandering around our yard. He wouldn't come near me at first so after the third time I approached he finally didn't run away, I tried whistling. He meowed and every time he meowed I would give a small whistle. The cat seemed to understand and after a few days, I gained his trust." He was getting really good at telling lies… he was pretty sure he was going to get called out on it one day.

"But he seems to be really friendly. Aren't you?" She asked the cat. The cat meowed.

"Maybe he just likes me." She poked fun at him. Geiney rolled his eyes and Lea mentally was not amused.

"Yeah, he's friendly _now._ " He stressed. Alice gave him a quick hug and Lea meowed his approval.

"Well, Geiney. I have to get going. It was good to see you again. You too, Jasper. Thanks for talking to me."

Geiney genuinely smiled, "Anytime. I'll talk with Luke and see what's up. This is the first time I'm hearing about this. Maybe he just needs a good friend to open up to."

Alice nodded and bid both him and Jasper farewell before seeing herself out.

When she was gone, Geiney turned to the cat.

"Crap! We have to do something about Luke, Jasper. I don't know how long he'll be able to handle demonic powers. Humans that aren't ready for divine powers be it angelic, demonic, or Wiccan, it can be catastrophic. He could be hurt, he could hurt others, or he could stumble upon something he's not supposed to… Wait, he's already doing that." Geiney started pacing, but when no voice spoke from the heavens like he had hoped, he groaned in frustration.

"I don't want him hurt, but if worse comes to worse…" He struggled to even voice his concern. His voice weakened to a small pitiful whisper, "I'll have to strip the powers from his being." Jasper looked down to the floor. He had to think of something to help Luke. Maybe they could help him… but Geiney had a point. Luke having demonic powers could be a dangerous thing, especially if the Elders found out. He mentally sighed. _This would be so much easier if he had witch powers…_

Jasper couldn't be any more content. He was cuddling next to Geiney's body, an arm over the cat's body. It wasn't too long ago that they went to bed, but Geiney was already breathing in evenly. Jasper felt so comfortable lying next to his teen charge and breathing in his scent…

Crap!

Jasper carefully wiggled out of Geiney's embrace and found the digital clock displaying bright red numbers. It was 11:04. Sherry was going to have his little furry head for being out so late! He didn't mean to stay this late, but under the circumstances he had no choice. He just hoped his sister was going to be a bit more understanding.

Thankfully, Geiney slept with his window open. Something Jasper found quite intriguing. He jumped unto the bedside table and found his way to the window ledge where he jumped down into a nearby bush. Staying in cat form meant he could travel home a lot faster. He continued to run through the streets until he arrived at home. The gate was locked, but that wasn't in issue for him. He squeezed on through, momentarily getting caught by one of the wires, but he made it through.

"I hope no one is waiting for me…" He spoke to himself. He went through the doggy door the house had which was a bit too big for standard dogs.

To stop the flap from swinging back and forth, Jasper slowly moved his body through the door. Once he was all the way through, he turned to the staircase.

Safe and— double crap!

The light turned on and revealed his sister sitting in the chair, her legs crossed and a look of total boredom on her face. She yawned, and he stood there watching her canine teeth flash.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? You promised you weren't gonna take so long. What is that on your neck?" She stepped closer absolutely curious at Jasper, or his brother Lea's, body. She examined the object.

"A collar? What the hell have you been up to, little brother?" She removed the collar and he stopped a moment to shake off the weird sensation. He was totally not used to wearing a collar and he was glad it was off.

She took a step back when he started to glow and he morphed back into his full human form. He stretched and gave a long exhale.

"It's been a long time since I've been in my cat form for that long." He commented; stretching upwards to the ceiling and standing on his toes.

"You are in so much trouble." She smirked, his only reply was a roll of the eyes.

"I'll have you know that it wasn't my fault that I was out so late. I was undercover when I was picked up and adopted. Thank you very much." He retorted, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his tongue out at her.

She laughed, "You and me both know you could've gone out of that situation a lot quicker. So why didn't you?"

Lea, let down his façade. "Yeah, there's more. But let's sit down first. I'll tell you everything."

After sitting down, Lea began to explain what happened when he arrived on the street prior to Geiney's. How he felt a strong sensation like someone was calling him, and the shockwave that no other person seemed to have felt. He explained how he found out the family was in fact witches and that fact seems to have solved some of the unsolved mysteries like Alex. Sherry acknowledged her disappearance and added her point that she had smelled the evil within her.

Lea continued to tell the story from his point of view. "So you see, Geiney cast a familiar spell and found me. They took me in as his guardian. Geiney, Sara, and Luz are witches and Ailyn is their Whitelighter." He explained.

Sherry nodded, not saying anything.

"So this is why I was so late. I couldn't exactly leave after they had bought me a food and water bowl and a collar." He jiggled the collar which made a small chime noise.

"Alright. I guess this means you are the family's familiar? You better get back to them then."

"Come again?" He wasn't sure if he heard right.

"Do you remember what our parents used to tell us? Besides being guardians to our own realm, we also help protect witches because of our powers. Our magic helps protect and guide them down the good path. You described what sounds like the spell calling you to help. You should keep answering its call."

"You're not mad?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Not anymore." She smiled.

"Don't worry about mom and dad. I'll take care of them. Go. Protect them, little brother. I'll handle things here with mom and dad. Besides, Dad's gonna be proud of you once he hears you are helping protect a witch."

"Yeah, I guess." He chuckled, "Thanks, Sherry."

"By the way what do they call you?"

"Jasper."

The next morning, Geiney and Ailyn arrived at the school well before the bells would ring, "Do I have to get picked up?" Geiney whined, annoyed.

Ailyn folded her arms, "Behave or I'll tell them. Can you bring Luke here now?"

"Sure…" Geiney nodded and texted Luke. Within fifteen minutes, Luke arrived, giving Ailyn a wary look, "Hey…"

"She's your family friend right…?" Luke paused, "Well, not normal either… Your presence is off to me."

Ailyn confirmed his suspicions, "I'm a guardian for their family. I'd… like to apologize."

Luke tilted his head, "Why?"

"…We have strict rules. If we revealed the truth of magic to the world…" Ailyn began, trying to find the right words.

"It would be chaos," Luke finished for her, "We can't have that, right?"

Ailyn paused, wondering if he was mocking her, "And because of that, you and your friends couldn't be warned."

Luke glanced at Geiney, "You told her everything I said, right?" Geiney bashfully nodded, "So… Ailyn, right?" She nodded, "I'm not that mad that I nearly died." He whispered to himself, "A blessing in disguise, huh?"

Ailyn heard that but kept it to herself, "You're not?"

"I'm mad my friends could die," Luke focused his gaze on Geiney, "Charlie nearly died… I watched a man choke him out, and you weren't there. None of you… I had to save him. I don't regret it."

"You shouldn't" Ailyn agreed with that sentiment, "But… The way demonic power works, it's going to try and corrupt you. Make you do things you'd never do as a human."

Luke nodded in understanding, "My question is… do the powers turn me evil or just allow me to be my real self?" Ailyn paused, "Would I become an uncontrollable monster or would I still have my own wishes involved?"

"I… can't say. It's hard to get much out of a person in your situation once they've gone rogue."

"Then I can be a test case," Luke offered, "I mean, you'll learn something new, and I can protect my friends when you can't."

Ailyn raised her voice, speaking clearly, "That would recklessly endanger everyone around you. I can't allow that."

Luke rolled his eyes, "You people living here recklessly endangers our lives," Geiney and Ailyn were both taken aback by his wording, "You selfishly attend public school and work, putting everyone around you in danger. Wasn't Brandon a lesson?"

"That's not-" Geiney started.

"You're witches. Add that to his odd circumstances of death and it's obvious," Luke practically spat the words, "Brandon died because you guys choose to involve mortals in your lives. You're the selfish ones. You won't even allow me the right to keep myself alive."

Ailyn offered, "But we can offer a ward for you if you really want."

Luke stepped away from her outstretched hand, "And what about everyone else who dies while this silent war rages? Don't you think everyone might need one?"

"We can't… cover everybody," Ailyn finally admitted, "We can't handle this many people."

"At least you've got something in common with governments," Luke quipped, "You can try to take the power from me if you want, but I'd rather die than risk Charlie or Ruby getting hurt."

Ailyn paused, "Ruby?" She recognized Charlie as a friend, but Ruby was a new name.

Luke looked away, "N-nevermind! Just… I can't give this up," Luke motioned to the blade in his side pocket, fixed into a hunting knife's holder, "I… I'm sorry."

"Luke…" Ailyn hesitated for the first time in her life in regards to a case like this. Was this how humanity would feel? Cheated, betrayed? Was this the reaction the Elders feared from the truth being revealed?

"I'm not going to sell you guys out," Luke continued, "I… I just broke in because I wanted Geiney back. My life is falling apart, and… And I…" Luke's voice cracked very audibly, "I don't want to be alone."

Ailyn decided to speak to Sandra later for guidance, "I… see. For now, I won't hold you."

Geiney's knees hit the ground, "What!? But… But!"

"I don't want to hurt him any more than you do," Ailyn reassured her little tyke, "Just expect me to keep a watchful eye."

Luke put the blade away safely in his back pocket, "Sure… I'm sorry for the trouble."

Ailyn turned to Geiney, "I'm headed home. You two play nice, okay?"

Geiney nodded slowly, questioning reality as he glanced between the two of them. No one had died. Wow. "Y-yes, ma'am."

Lea watched on from afar in cat form, unbeknownst to Ailyn. _Luke is pretty lonely, huh? I definitely need to get Ruby on his side! They'll be thanking me in their vows in no time!_

Ailyn departed, leaving an awkward mood behind.

"Want to see my cat?" Geiney offered.

Luke smiled wistfully, "Sure… I miss Chubster."

Geiney asked, "Miss him?"

"He ran away…" Luke sighed as the stifling loneliness exuded from his very being, "…He didn't want to be around me either."

"That's not true… Look, I'll get Jasper, you'll love him!"

Lea thought to himself once more. _I wonder if Luke likes guys… Geiney does, I hope!_

Leaving his conversation with Geiney behind, Luke reached the outskirts of the school grounds near a small forest close by and greeted Charlie with a wave, "I'm glad you showed."

"Why wouldn't I have?" Charlie asked, sounding more than a little concerned.

"I haven't made the smartest decisions lately," Luke admitted begrudgingly.

Charlie opened up his sweatshirt to show off his t-shirt which had a phrase written on it. 'It's alright, we'll do it the dumbest way possible because it's easier for you.' "Break into his house to talk, right?"

Luke chuckled self-derisively, "I deserve that." Glancing down at his hand, Luke clenched it, "I have some… news."

"What news?" Charlie asked, concern hinted in his voice.

"Well… I'll show you." Aiming his outstretched palm towards one of the smaller trees, Luke generated a small ball of ice and blasted the tree with it, coating it in ice, the shards cutting through parts of the bark.

Charlie stepped back, eyes widened, "The hell was that!?'

Luke lowered his hand and smirked, "I'm not your average everyday human anymore, Charlie. For you see… Killing that monster that attacked us allowed me to grow beyond mere humanity… Basically, he was a demon, and this…" Pulling out the glowing Athame, Luke grinned, "This absorbs the power of those I stab and makes me stronger."

"B-but… Why would Geiney and his family own that!?" Charlie exclaimed in shock and terror.

"They… they're witches, Charlie," Luke spoke plainly as Charlie gasped, wracking his brain, "Those killings, that man Yuriel did it. Geiney's so busy lately because a monster is hunting his family down. A wicked woman hiring demons out to murder them all…"

Charlie mulled it over in his head, "You can't be serious…"

Luke shrugged, "If you can explain the ice, you can disregard this… The truth is, Geiney and I have powers now."

"That's why you smoked the basketball team, isn't it?" Charlie pieced it together, "Don't you become evil with demonic powers?"

"That's why… I had a friend make me this," Luke pulled out a second Athame and gifted it to Charlie, "If I go rogue, take me down. If I lose all of my sanity, I won't remember giving this up anyways."

Charlie held it away from himself, "Won't I just become evil too?"

Luke shook his head, "Ask Geiney to remove the power and you'd be fine."

"…I don't want to think about killing you. Can't you just remove the powers?" Charlie pleaded with his friend.

"And when a guy like Yuriel attacks again, we'll just be killed," Luke dourly replied, "Please, Charlie…"

With a sigh of defeat and a fear Luke's worries might prove right one day, Charlie took the blade into his pocket, "Fine… So, what next?"

Luke shrugged, "Let's put sweet and sour sauce on Geiney's chair again."

Silas, wearing a well-steamed suit and tie, sat in the lobby of the seventh floor of Abstraks waiting to be called in. He was going to complete the last assignment his now deceased friend had asked him to do. He was going to get a job. It seemed this boy, Luke, was helpful enough to help him with his 'resume'. Luke was a pretty intelligent kid, if he had anything to say of the child. But, he did not like the child meddling into things he didn't understand. His intentions are well and good, something Silas completely understood; the need to protect what's important to you.

But a human with demonic powers… this was unheard of. He wasn't sure if he got through to the child in advising him to be careful. When it came to celestial powers, be it good or evil, the vessel was always tested. The vessel needs to know what it is getting into. He doubted Luke knew what he was getting into, and he hoped Luke knew what he was doing.

He reread his resume. It sounded rather sophisticated. He just hoped that the practice with Raviel, his former ally, would be enough to warrant him a job. He could always use his powers… but for some reason, he felt the need to do this himself. No powers involved. Or was it that the situation with Luke was getting to him?

He looked up to see an attractive woman walk past him. He knew he was next. He wore the green tie his former ally used to wear. For some reason, he felt a bit sad to try to throw it away. He kept it as a reminder of a good friend, something he hadn't had in a long time. But what was a long time? He couldn't remember much of his time before imprisonment or his past life. He knew he had to have had a past life, if he was a 'demon'.

Demon was a different word altogether with him. He wasn't an angel that much he knew for sure. But he wasn't a demon, pushing their leader's agenda. He was just a being with demonic powers that liked to pull pranks on people. Maybe he _was_ a demon?

"Jude Cohen." The receptionist called, and Silas stood up. "Please proceed through, Jack McAllister awaits your presence."

"Thank you." He replied.

He walked in the room to where Jack, the president of Abstraks resided. Jack was writing down notes on a legal pad and without looking up, asked the guest to sit down at one of the chairs. When Jack finished writing down his note, he looked up and gave a warm smile.

"Hello, I'm Jack McAllister, the president of Abstraks." He extended his hand and Jude took it, and shook it. Jack smiled, a good firm handshake.

"I'm Jude Cohen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. McAllister." He answered in a crisp, clear voice.

"So it looks as if you were assigned to be either Security or part of Productions. Seems you did well on your Aptitude test, you fit the requirements for Security, and you even have a degree in accounting."

"Yes, that is correct. I wasn't sure where they wanted me so I told them I would be willing to do any position that your company requires me to fill. Be it security, accountant or even a messenger." Okay so maybe 'Jude' performed a little illusion magic on Jack. What Jack was actually holding was a blank piece of paper. To any human, it would look like the results of some testing and notes on Jude. To any other person, it was just a blank sheet of paper.

"Very well. Then allow me to ask you a simple question. What position would you prefer? I can throw you in any position, but I also require you to be comfortable in that position. I do not want to hire you as a messenger, only to have you resign a month later because it wasn't the position you desired." Jack explained himself, "So what position would you most likely see yourself doing?" Jack folded his hands neatly on the table in front of him. He was in the unique position to hear this client's demands. He rarely received people who could qualify to work in more than one position, and those that did worked very hard for that title.

"Speaking openly about myself, I do prefer the job as security. I am good at defending myself and others and am alert to my surroundings. I am licensed to wield a gun, and can hold my ground against tougher, more experienced opponents in hand to hand combat. Most of all, if I were to be given a chance, I can prove I can be an asset to your company."

Jack considered him a moment.

"If you saw your commanding officer take money out of an armored vehicle, without him noticing you were watching. What would you do?"

Jude immediately responded to such a question, "I would confront him."

"And if he drew a weapon against you?"

Jude thought for a moment, "I would try to convince him to not go through with it."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"I would do all that I can to ensure the safety of everyone around me, even at the risk of my own." Jack wrote down some notes.

"Very well, Mr. Cohen. I believe you to be a good candidate for the job as security. However, there are still many more applicants that I must speak with. I have your contact information, but I have a feeling I just might give you a second call." Jack held his hand out and Jude took it.

"It was a pleasure, Mr. McAllister. Thank you for your time, and I hope you consider me for the position. And if not, I am available for any and all positions available." Hearing this from Jude, Jack gave a bigger smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Cohen. Have a good day."

"You as well." Jude left the room and thanked the receptionist on the way down to the elevator. Besides the illusion spell, he did not use any other forms of magic.

"Thank you, Raviel, old friend." He thanked the spirits and got unto the elevator, now more comfortable with it.

Sara stared at the computer screen over Laura's shoulder. Laura was showing her images of what she obtained. Daisy started looking for color schemes and found a few colors that would match their dinner banquet.

"I got to thinking. Since this is going to be for their new beauty product, the Vigor Vitality, I thought we could add the pedestals that house the product and build an arch for the pedestals with the streamers the color of their product." Laura switched windows and pulled up an archived picture of the product and an image of one of the models with Troy, both on the set of the commercial, "Gold, silver, Green, and White, which also matches the same colors the company uses throughout their beauty line."

Laura pulled a notebook out of her drawer and flipped through a few pages and gave the notebook to Sara. It was a rough draft with the pedestal Troy uses to house the beauty products. Over it was an arch labeled 'wood' that had swirled looking lines. An arrow pointed at the lines and labeled as 'streamers'.

"So the streamers would go around the arch and they would be the same colors as their product and company. I like it." Sara smiled.

"There's more," She flipped through another tab on her browser. "I found some linen table cloths with the same colors. They aren't too expensive either, but for the types of tables we have, I believe we can custom order. The company is on the other side of town. I've already called them and they said after we placed the order we can pick it up in a few days. Just enough time for the dinner banquet to take place."

"Excellent! Any other ideas?"

"I'm still looking for some other ideas. I'm researching the Masquerade theme. It comes quite close to what we want to do for the banquet. It's a formal attire and black tie event. Something we're familiar with. What do you think, Sara?" She asked.

Sara nodded her head, "I think that will be our goal for the evening. Send me an e-mail with all the information you've collected and I'll get started with ordering the materials."

"Has Jack told you the final date, yet?" Laura asked, switching the subject.

"He's supposed to get back to me today." Sara replied, "I'll give you a call once he does though."

"Okay, hun." Laura replied. Laura had a brilliant smile that seemed to make her olive complexion shine.

"Where's Brooke and Roseanne?" Sara asked, looking around the Productions lobby for the two of them.

"They're in the Banquet Hall, trying to decide how they wanted to rearrange things and come up with ideas to the set-up." Laura replied and Sara nodded in acknowledgement.

"I guess I'll head over there now." Sara bid Laura farewell and headed off to the elevator. When she got in an unexpected, unwelcome guest jumped in just before the door had closed.

"Eva… what are you doing here?" She smiled through grit teeth. She was purposely avoiding Eva since Eva kept bringing up ideas Sara 'needed' to follow through on.

"I have everything you're going to need for the dinner banquet. The finest china, real silverware, and the finest glassware there is. I have the order ready for you; all you need to do is confirm the banking number. I can do it for you. That way you don't have to." She coaxed.

"No, Eva. Thank you for your ideas but we have everything covered. Besides, as the only person authorized on this account I need to see a copy of the invoice before I authorize your order."

"Oh, shoot. It's on my desk." Eva groaned, "I knew I should've brought it with me. Where are you going to be right now?"

"With all due respect Eva, the answer is no. I will not authorize anything you order." The elevators rang, "Now excuse me. I have somewhere to be."

Eva crossed her arms over her chest, an angry look growing on her features.

"This is going to be my moment to prove I'm better than any of you. You will not take it away from me." She muttered to herself, her own lips twitching into a frown. She all but punched the number seven on the control panel. She was going to get her way whether Sara liked it or not…

"How are you girls doing?" Sara asked as Brooke and Roseanne were pointing at an empty spot at the corner of the banquet room. Her echoes reverberated throughout the empty and bare hall.

"Hey, Sara. We're coming up with different scenes for the banquet hall. Brooke drew five sets already." Brooke flashed the drawing with a cheeky look on her face.

Sara was surprised, "I didn't know you could draw." She loved the detail of the drawings. They looked like a black and white snapshot had it not been for the shadow smears Brooke had done for perspective.

"I am a woman of many talents." She prided herself.

"Dating isn't one of them." Roseanne teased, and Brooke pouted.

"Like you have room to talk!" Brooke blushed from pouting, Sara gave a small chuckle.

"I mean she's got you there, Roseanne."

Roseanne rolled her eyes; she knew she was defeated.

"All right, I admit. I've had a bad relationship or two… and a sickness like no other," She muttered to herself, "I knew I should've used a condom."

"The other two girls snapped their heads up from the drawing, "What?" Rang the chorus which seemed to endlessly echo.

"It's nothing!" Roseanne whined. Deciding it was time to change the subject she spoke up, "Did you get in touch with Laura and Daisy?"

"I did," Sara responded, "They have the color and style theme just about locked in. I'll give you guys a call later to give the details. When that's done, I'll order what we need and you guys can get started with decorating."

The girls acknowledged the plan.

"Will do, Sara." Brooke affirmed.

"Yeah, keep us in touch. Anything on the final date?" Roseanne asked.

"No, Jack will keep me updated on that. He'll contact me later today."

"Okay."

"Then I will bid you girls a farewell." Sara mock bowed and the girls responded in their own salutations.

When Sara left, Brooke turned to her partner, "You're not getting out of this one. What was that about using a condom?" She crossed her arms over her breasts, and Roseanne blushed.

"It's nothing!" She whined. Brooke didn't falter. She was gonna find out what happened with her and her mechanic lover and the little disease she received from it.

 _That's what you get for not keeping your mouth shut._ Roseanne yelled at herself.

Geiney exited from his classroom, totally exhausted. It was only October, but it felt like hell. To top off the terribly boring lectures, some dick had ruined his pants with condiments again. Why sweet and sour though!?

He wondered what he'd do for Halloween as he noticed something at the edge of the school parking lot. A man in a red cloak stood menacingly, raising a hand and pointing right at him. The hooded man turned and Geiney felt a rush of adrenaline. Should he follow?

Geiney waited a moment before deciding, knowing his sisters would definitely yell at him for this later.

Luz and Sara arrived at the school just in time to pick up Geiney. After Gabbriel's appearance, the sisters decided to upkeep their watchful eye on their younger sibling to keep him safe. They were right to be cautious when they found Geiney following a shadowed demon to an empty lot at the outskirts of an old abandoned construction site.

They were standing outside of a large metal building filled with construction materials, an abandoned warehouse long left behind by the city and by time.

Sara arrived first and shouted to Geiney, "Hold up, squirt! It's a trap!"

"He died… Sad, isn't it? Admiral Ackbar, I mean… Your brother's good." Sara turned to the man in a suit with a green tie before her, ignoring Geiney and the shadowed gentlemen in the background, "Name's Raviel. All my friends are dead."

"You mean that Gabbriel!?" Luz shouted in anger, "That monster mocked my lover's death!"

Raviel shrugged, "His bad… I just… chill… Oh, right… My buddy Mike has… a message for you guys…"

"I don't have time for games!" Sara raised her hand to threaten the absentminded demon.

Geiney challenged the cloaked villain before him, a midsized man wearing a red cloak with ragged edges, "Why did you come to my school!?"

The being laughed in a way that sounded very familiar to Geiney, "I missed you! Having an ally that resurrects demons is a great perk!"

"Jeremy!?" Geiney recognized that voice instantly, "Why do you keep coming back!? Is it the Source!?"

"Do you think the Source would concern itself with trash that can't keep a simple heirloom safe?" Jeremy tilted his head, "My boss wanted me to tell you that our buddy Mike wants a fight here. Tomorrow evening."

Geiney readied himself, "Tell him to come out now! We can end this sooner!"

Jeremy sighed, "Theatrics, kid. He's the last survivor of the group hunting you the last few days… Then again, you've only met Raviel here. Gabbriel was destroyed by that one," He pointed to Luz, "Yuriel and Losifer were both killed by… that friend of yours."

"What!?" Sara exclaimed, "What friend, Geiney!?"

Geiney stuttered, "Well, uh… I…"

"The one who took my Athame," Jeremy answered for him, "Who used it to slay them both and absorb their powers."

"…You know?"

Geiney's question enraged Luz, "Your friend stole the Athame that absorbs power!? And you knew!?"

Jeremy shrugged, "The message is sent. Mike awaits the final battle, but don't underestimate him. I wouldn't want you all to die so quickly."

Sara approached him, "I'll end you myself."

"Now, now… Why would you strike me? I'm not attacking," Geiney noted how off Jeremy was acting. He was a different person, er, demon right now.

"Demons belong in hell," Sara opened her palm and channeled energy through her, "A free trip is the least I can offer."

Jeremy chuckled, "That's a good line. Fine. Raviel, back to base."

Raviel nodded, "Uh… Okay."

Geiney jumped in his way, "No way! We're not letting you go without more information!"

Raviel opened his palm and charged a small, pitiful fireball, "Whatever…"

Geiney easily destroyed it with a wind ball of his own, "Are you trying?"

"Life is trying, man…" Raviel stepped back and created another, treating the fight casually.

Geiney raised an eyebrow, "Is this why you hang back?"

Raviel laughed slightly, "That and the drug busts…"

Geiney waved his hands before him and summoned two wind balls, letting both fly towards Raviel. Raviel ducked, letting one breeze his face, "Dude… Make fans…"

"Are you making fun of me?" Geiney asked, annoyed.

Raviel shook his head, "It gets hot in hell. We need some… god damned AC in here… Hehe… get it?"

Sara lunged for Jeremy with a powerful kick to no avail. Jeremy dodged it and blocked a second with his elbow, "You can enhance your strength to fight hand-to-hand? Interesting…"

Luz watched on, clearly confident in her siblings' abilities to handle such weak opponents.

"You have some skill," Sara moved her hair out of her face, "I don't need an old book to crush you."

Jeremy stepped back cautiously, "If you needed it to take down an enemy that isn't fighting back, you'd never live through Mike's battle anyways."

Sara jumped and brought her heel down; aiming for Jeremy's hidden face. Jeremy grabbed her leg and threw her back, offsetting her balance. As Sara struggled to stand up, Jeremy poked her in the nose, "Gotcha."

"Bastard!" Sara kicked the demon in the stomach and knocked him back, "I trained for years! I won't let you mock my hard work!"

"I like feisty girls, but you're a little old for me…" Jeremy chimed in.

Sara's entire body erupted into energy as she lunged for her opponent with murder in her eyes.

Geiney smirked, "Wanna see something cool?"

Raviel nodded slowly, excited for whatever the young warlock had in store.

Taking in the air around him, Geiney powered himself and unleashed a wave of six wind balls, spreading them out in a thin line. The blast slashed through Raviel's shirt, cutting his bag of weed in half, spilling out, "Dude… That's not cool!"

"Sorry?" _Why was I apologizing?_

"Have it your way…" Raviel opened his right hand and infused his palm with a red glow, creating a small fireball, twirling it between his fingers before flinging it.

Luz sensed danger immediately, "Geiney, move!"

Too late. Geiney threw a wind ball, and as they collided, the fireball exploded outwards, knocking Geiney off of his feet and singing his hair, causing him to pat himself roughly, "That hurt!"

Raviel lowered his arms, hanging them loosely, "…Oh, sorry."

Jeremy jumped to his side, "Don't apologize to the people trying to kill you, idiot!"

"Then what should I do?" Raviel asked again.

"Leave!" Jeremy pointed to Geiney, "I'll cover you!"

Geiney smirked with confidence, "You died to us twice. I did it myself the last time! What do you think you can do?"

Jeremy fired up a red ball and released it. Geiney expected this and created a shield of swirling green light. The red light easily passed along the outside of the shield and Geiney flung it backwards. The blast continued on and rocketed towards Luz. Luz flew back in a pained scream, rolling through the dirt at the unexpected attack.

"Oh, shit…" Geiney cursed to himself.

Raviel turned to leave only to be greeted by a powerful kick from Sara. As Raviel was flung back, Sara raised her palm and, whispering a quick incantation, incinerated Raviel in an instant.

"Not… groovy…" Raviel's last words faded into a whisper as his life was expunged from the mortal coil.

Luz rose to her feet, impressed at her sister's abilities, "This is her real might?"

"Are you okay!?" Geiney rushed to her side, "I'm sorry!"

"I'm impressed, Geiney. You did surprisingly well," Luz patted him on the head, ignoring the stinging pain, "Those were some sick moves."

Jeremy growled, "Why did you go and kill him!? He didn't want to fight!"

Sara glared at Jeremy with contempt, "You're demons. I've seen them kill, murder, pillage… You even destroyed my family's home!"

Jeremy snarled in anger, "Witches are no better! It was a witch that contracted these demons! It's the selfish and callous humans who bring them back and people who become them!"

"And we fight and die to make up for those mistakes!" Sara yelled back, "You're next!"

Jeremy just laughed as a small green aura flowed around him, "You'll wish you never killed him."

Sara rushed at Jeremy and punched him cleanly. Sara grinned confidently, until her fist flied off course and Jeremy plunged his fist into her gut, sending her flying back, "What!?"

"He didn't want to fight and you murdered him," Jeremy's entire body started levitating slightly, "You managed to kill a pot-smoking demon who just wanted to hang out. Wow, did you demonstrate your goodness!"

"All demons do is destroy!" Sara answered his taunts in anger, "You're no different!"

Jeremy stopped for a moment, "I'm no demon. But you can't even tell…" Jeremy raised his hand and powered up another ball, one of three separate colors; blue, green, and yellow, "Here's a lesson in humility and mercy."

Jeremy threw the ball at Geiney, completely unprepared for the attack. Geiney gripped the sizable ball with both hands, struggling to push it away before it detonated in his hands. As Sara rushed to save him, the ball disappeared, instead flying directly at her.

The ball exploded into lightning and ice, the green aura shooting out harmlessly as Sara slammed against the metal building behind them.

Jeremy shook his head, "Let those with wickedness in their hearts be saved, for I have come to judge them." A different voice left his mouth as he shimmered out, leaving the damaged siblings alone.

Ailyn orbed in just in time to see him leave and rushed to Sara's side. Sara had cuts everywhere, her clothes shredded, her hair standing upright from the electricity, "Are you alright!? Sara!"

Sara coughed in pain, tearing up slightly at her wounded body and her shattered pride.

"…This is… weird."

Luz ran up to the both of them alongside Geiney, ignoring her own minor wounds, "What is?"

"There's signs she was healed… by a demon…" Ailyn glanced at Geiney and Luz, "What happened?"

Geiney explained quickly, "I left school and was waiting when… When a dude in a red cloak appeared. I followed him because he looked suspicious, and…"

Luz raised her voice, "Why didn't you wait for us!?"

"I was worried I'd lose him… And it was Jeremy, back again. He and… Raviel were here to tell us about a demon named Mike," Geiney struggled with the names, "He's challenged us to a fight here… Tomorrow."

Ailyn glanced over Sara's wounds, "Who healed her?"

Luz struggled to find the words, "…No one… did. The guy… Jeremy shot her with a magical ball, one I've not seen before. Lightning and ice knocked her back…"

"There was a green light I didn't get…" Geiney pointed out, "And it coated Jeremy after… Raviel died."

It clicked for Ailyn, "Sounds like… Raviel died and his power went to Jeremy… Why, though?"

Geiney asked, "So Raviel was just a healer, then? He didn't want to fight, but Sara…"

Ailyn glanced at the heavily wounded Sara, "We'll talk later. I'll heal her up and take her back. Come here, honey…" Ailyn lifted Sara up and held her as she orbed out, back to the house if anything.

Geiney sighed, thankful he'd survived, "At least we lived."

"What happened with your friend, exactly?" Luz remembered and asked Geiney.

"…So close!"

The hooded man faded back into the cavern and slammed his fist into the wall in a rage, "Why would she kill him!?"

Silas approached, looking concerned, "Luke?"

'Jeremy' tore off the cloak and revealed himself, an angry Luke struggling not to destroy something, "She killed him for no reason, Silas! I should have killed her!"

"Raviel is dead, then?" Silas's heart dropped. He liked him after their time spent together browsing the thing called Netflix.

Luke struggled to maintain himself, "I… couldn't kill her. If I did, Mike would…"

Silas understood immediately, "They'd lose against him pretty easily. They need all the help they can get."

"…Do you know where their parents live?" Luke asked tentatively, "If they ask them for help, they might…"

"A perfect idea…" Mike shimmered in, "Luke, you will attack the parents so they can't be involved. Confident as I am, five witches is too much."

Luke wondered aloud, "Couldn't I just fight with you?"

Mike scoffed at the pathetic excuse for a plan, "I don't pride myself in being aided by weaklings."

"But you take pride in cheating," Luke countered.

"You little…" Mike raised his arm and channeled pink energy into his palms, "I'll dispose of you myself, you bastard!"

Luke ducked under his blast of energy and jammed the Athame into Mike's thigh. A scream erupted, guttural and pained as Mike fell back. As some of his life energy flowed into Luke, he raised his arm and channeled pink energy into it.

"I'm not Losifer, you pathetic swine!" Luke yelled out in Jeremy's scratchier, coarse voice. "We're a different beast altogether." Yuriel's charming tone rang out.

Mike bristled at the thought of listening to this worm talk down to him, "I will not submit to trash like you."

"I'll distract the parents, but I'll do it my way," Luke relented, "But you listen here… You don't kill Geiney or I will end you myself."

"What? You want to protect your little friend!?" Mike mocked him openly.

Losifer's voice rose to the top, "I'll end him myself, Hell. Keep yourself in line."

Mike stepped back, "You're kidding, right?"

Luke shook his head, "I don't expect you to understand… I want to prove I can beat him, that's all. The only reason I'm even humoring you at this point is because I know they can crush you."

"And if you're wrong?" Mike taunted.

"…I won't kill you." Luke admitted, wanting to lure Mike into a false sense of security, "…Do you know of any other demons in town?"

Mike folded his arms, "Why do you care?"

Luke grinned, "I think esteemed gentlemen like ourselves could do with some minions, don't you agree? Now that Raviel's dead and Silas here has defected to the mortal realm, what do we have left?"

"…Not a terrible thought. There are eight that I know of. I can pinpoint them for you," Mike offered, "All low level, weaker than us by a considerable amount. Unless their plan panned out."

"A group, huh? What are they like…?" Luke began to wonder at the usefulness Mike could provide.

It would be a shame he had to die.


	14. True Hell I

"What do you actually intend to do with the demons Mike told you about?" Silas asked Luke, discerning his motives himself for once. "Planning to add them to your collection?"

Luke shrugged, "Depends what they're like really."

Silas grinned, "So lackadaisical about it. Has the power gone to your head?"

"Mike said they're weaker. Maybe I can reform them," Luke once again sounded unsure, "If I can't… Well, cleaning up this town might be fun."

"Don't get yourself killed. I'll have no one left to speak with who knows about me," Silas said it as a joke but it sounded far too real for the man.

A familiar tone rose from Luke's throat, "You got it… man…"

Luke shimmered out, leaving Silas alone. He stood there, staring at the ground, "…Raviel…"

The house was bombarded by screaming and a frantic Geiney walking fast to avoid being scolded by his sister. If this were an animated cartoon, Luz would be trying to hack at Geiney with a butcher's knife trying to fillet the poor child.

"I didn't mean to keep it a secret! I just didn't want him to get hurt. I never thought he would get involved!" Geiney defended himself. He stopped in the living room, realizing he was trapped. Ailyn was hovering over Sara lying down on the couch. Luz blocked Geiney's only exit and with Sara and Ailyn in the room there was no way he was getting out of this alive… or so his mind dramatized.

"What are you two arguing about?" Ailyn asked.

"This little son of a witch didn't tell us his friend broke into our home, stole the power absorbing Athame and killed a demon with it!" She cried.

"What!?" The unison cry from Sara and Ailyn frightened Geiney.

With nowhere else to turn, he repeated himself, "Luke and Charlie broke in to try to hang out with me a few nights ago when Jeremy attacked. They took the Athame as a bartering chip so that I could hang out with them but then when they left they were ambushed by a demon. During the attack Luke stabbed a demon and absorbed his power—"

"What the hell, Geiney!?" Sara exploded, completely cutting Geiney off and groaning when she tried to get up. Ailyn held her down.

"Do you know how reckless that was?" Sara continued.

"I didn't know they were going to break into my house and steal a Athame! I didn't even know he broke in until just recently. Do I have the power to see into the future? No, I don't think I do." He replied sarcastically.

"God, you are such a child." Sara complained.

"Ha! Said child kicked ass a while ago and you weren't complaining." He defended himself.

Sara groaned and Luz turned to their Whitelighter.

"You knew, didn't you?" Luz faced her protector and Ailyn nodded, and spoke up much to Geiney's protest.

"Yes."

"Wait, you knew? And you didn't tell us!?" Sara screeched but Ailyn pushed her down into the couch and placed a bag of Ice on top of her head.

"I wasn't going to tell you guys yet unless Luke refused to give up his powers. However, it seems the child has gotten some control over them. He wants to protect himself and his friends. It's hard for me to just tell him he can't when he's already been attacked and nearly killed. Luke seems to want to help but the Elders would surely disapprove."

"Then we will take them from him. Plain and simple." Sara spoke her solution to the problem.

"You see, this is why I didn't want to tell you. Because Hitler over there," He pointed to Sara, "would hurt him. I bet you don't care he's a human being, right?"

"Geiney, that was so irresponsible of you! The least we could have done is talked about it." Luz continued, shutting Sara down before she said something she couldn't take back. Sara opened her mouth only to have Ailyn place a hand over it shaking her head no.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" Ailyn screeched, loud enough to draw everyone's attention to her.

"We can all," she gestured in repeated circles, "talk about this later. We need to talk about what we're doing for tomorrow's meeting with Mike." Ailyn spoke up, sparing Geiney from his certain doom by his sisters for the moment.

"I say we charge in and kill him." Sara said, not in the mood to deal with another problem.

"There you go again with the killing…" Geiney muttered loud enough to be heard on purpose.

Luz stepped forward, "I say we should bring the Book. I bet we're gonna need it for this fight. This demon, Mike, seems to be stronger than the others if he's bold enough to call a duel with us."

"Or he's very stupid…" Sara input.

"The three of you need to be prepared for tomorrow night. Who knows what could happen and above all, you need to stick together. You are stronger together than you are alone. You must not forget that." Ailyn reminded them. Sara wanted to argue about bringing Geiney along after his little mess up, but she knew that Ailyn spoke the truth. They were much stronger together than alone and if this was a strong demon, she didn't want to tackle the fight by herself.

Reluctantly she agreed to bringing the book, and to watch out for dangers.

"I will be nearby, making sure what you are walking into isn't a trap. You guys can call me at the first sign of trouble." She paused, "But I don't like sending you guys alone. Keep together, and stay focused." Ailyn turned to Sara, "No more arguing," then pointed to Luz, "Get your head in the game," and finally facing Geiney, "Do not get distracted. The first sign of trouble, you call me, Tyke." The three siblings agreed and Ailyn finally finished healing the siblings up.

"Now, a quick spar wouldn't be such a bad idea either…" Once more she turned to Sara, "Do not take your anger out on your siblings." She warned, "There will be consequences…"

The next day would be an eventful one as the three siblings parted for their respective 'jobs', all three anxious about the incoming battle.

As Geiney was leaving the school as the final bell rang, Luke stopped him, "Hey, man."

"What do you want?" Geiney glared at Luke, mad that he had been nearly fileted by his sister over letting Luke go.

"Heard about a fight," Luke slyly grinned, "Thought I could help."

Geiney shook his head, "No way! My sisters would try to cure you the second you showed up!"

Luke ignored his protest, "They won't be of issue to me. Mike is a more important foe. He's an ally to the guys who tried to kill Charlie and me after all."

"How… how do you know that?" Geiney was growing suspicious of his friend now.

"Raviel approached me with an alliance. Before you killed him?" Luke pretended that it was a question, though he had been there, "He never returned to base and his partners are all dead."

Geiney began to connect the dots in his head, "He said someone killed two of them… If you got Yuriel…"

Luke begrudgingly admitted, "I offed their boss when he asked for my help. Mike's gone rogue now. Sadly, he's way stronger than that weak boss of theirs. Hence, I'm here to help."

"My sisters won't allow it," Geiney was sad that he had to turn down help. If things got ugly… No. He had to have faith he and his sisters would be fine on their own.

"…I'll remain nearby just in case," Luke eventually spoke again, "Is that alright?"

Geiney weighed the odds, "Just… stay out of sight. But don't worry. We'll be able to handle it."

As Geiney walked off, the battle looming overhead, Luke chuckled, "I sure hope so."

Shera approached Charlie, sitting alone at the picnic table out front of the school, "You're normally with Luke by now, aren't you?"

Charlie noticed her and shrugged, not wanting to spill the truth, "He had somewhere important to be..."

"Something's been off with that guy lately," Shera began to prod Charlie more, "He's got this aura around him… It's hard to read."

"Eh, just guy stuff," Charlie dismissively replied.

Shera scoffed, "Since when do guys score on the entire basketball team after showing no skill beforehand?"

Charlie bit his tongue, not letting his kneejerk response out, "Guess he got lucky…"

"Geiney's off, too," Shera continued on, "Like when Alex disappeared and he had bandages covering his stomach. They were partners for a project, too. Alice was so upset."

"He can be clueless… How does he not know she likes him?" Charlie was overwhelmed by Geiney's thoughtlessness towards her.

"Charlie… I know Geiney's a witch. I can sense it," Shera dropped a bomb shell on Charlie like never before, "I… I'm a witch, too."

"…You're kidding… Right?" Charlie croaked out.

Shera shook her head, "I can sense power like that. Ruby, Sherry, Lea… They aren't exactly… human, either. Not witches, though…" Ignoring Charlie's exasperated look, she continued speaking, "I noticed that… you have potential yourself. I wanted to ask if you know about witchcraft."

Charlie shook his head, "Just the Crucible. And they weren't real…" Shaking his head, Charlie sighed loudly, "They're off fighting a demon or something. I'm just… here alone today."

"I… could teach you," Shera offered, "If you had powers, you could go with them."

"Nah, too dangerous," Charlie replied weakly, "I… doubt I'd be much use."

Shera reached out her hand to him, "Why not give it a shot anyways? See where it leads you?"

Charlie hesitated, glancing from her hand to the serious expression on her face, her kind smile setting the mood with her determined gaze.

Doctor Danson could not understand what he was reading. After the simple lab work he had done on little Evan Nicholson, he asked Evan to return for a follow up and to see how he was doing. The doctor was reviewing the results before he talked with Evan and his mother. The tired doctor removed his bifocals and rubbed his eyes, receiving a brief moment of relief for his puffy, sore eyes. He put on his glasses again and re-read the report.

Red blood count was down. The numbers were too low for someone his age. This meant he had anemia; hemoglobin and hematocrit were down. Platelets were down which wasn't a good sign for a young child to have…

Doctor Danson retrieved a pediatric CBC (complete blood count) chart from his personal desk where he kept all of his reference materials. He grabbed the sheet labeled 'Child 2-6 years' and placed it next to Evan's CBC test. Doctor Danson frowned seeing the reference normal count versus Evans'. Evan had a platelet count of about 100,000 and the normal count is in between 150,000 to 300,000. This was concerning because the platelets would help clot the blood when Evan would cut himself. Theories and conditions bounced in his head but most of them didn't make any sense or the conditions contradicted certain symptoms he was exhibiting.

Then there was the abnormality that was bugging him… The white blood cell count was higher than it should be. Doctor Danson's blood started running cold. He was heading in the direction he didn't want to go. He felt the fear running in his being, his concern for Evan growing.

What was going on with the child? What was the reason for the shortage of blood cells? Was he not making enough blood cells or they were being destroyed in his body perhaps? At this point his brain was coming up with more questions than theories. He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. He didn't want to but it seemed that Evan was going to need a Bone Marrow Aspiration.

This was going to be the next step. He knew that any other tests would be futile and a waste of time. This condition wasn't simple and his diagnosis was leading him to believe this was something else, something big.

A knock on the door turned his attention to the arrival; Luz walked in.

"Doctor, Evan Nicholson is here. I've finished his pediatric exam. There is something you should know about him." She looked so concerned that the doctor turned his body to look at her directly.

"What's going on?"

Luz handed the folder to the Doctor and he took it and opened it to the examination notes. He read the notes to Luz's recount.

"Little Evan seems to be more tired than usual. His mother has been receiving complaints from his teachers that he falls asleep during class and he has been less active in participation. One of my concerns that I wrote down is that he looks weaker." Luz paused to allow the doctor to read her notes.

"You wrote that Evan looks weaker and he no longer has the energy to do things like run around with his friends, play or even doing his chores. Evan has lost some weight and he doesn't eat much anymore." He turned to Luz, "Was he thinner? How did he respond to your questions?"

"He was thinner, Doctor. He responded softly, like he didn't want to talk. Like he just wanted to sleep. His mother said that he doesn't want to eat but she does feed him. He doesn't eat much but enough to keep him sustained. His mother was in tears in the exam room."

The Doctor regarded her a moment, reading her notes. Luz wrote that Evan had a considerable amount of bruises on his body. Evan swears that he doesn't remember hurting himself. And even his mom has been concerned about the bruises, thinking that a bully was picking on her son.

"The bruises, where are they located?" He asked her.

"Mostly on his arms and legs. Do you think there is concern that someone is hurting him?" She raised an eyebrow awaiting her answer.

"No, I believe I know what is going on with Evan. Nobody is hurting him, though. Continue with your recount."

"The last thing I wrote is that he still has a fever. 102.2 degrees. He went up .3 degrees."

Doctor Danson closed the folder and stood up. He knew what his next step in diagnosing Evan was going to be.

"Alright, I can take it from here. I think I know the next step." Luz nodded and turned to leave; she needed to type up the first part of this report for Evan.

The doctor gave three quick knocks on Evan's examination room door.

"Evan Nicholson. Mrs. Nicholson." He shook her hand. The woman had been crying.

"Hello, Doctor." She greeted, wiping the tear streaks from her face.

"What's wrong with Evan?" She asked.

"I'm not entirely sure yet, but I feel like I'm getting close. Can you tell me what's been going on?" Mrs. Nicholson recounted everything that was going on with Evan. Everything in Luz's report was in her recount. While he was listening to her he did a quick check up on Evan. He had a fever, he looked rather tired as if he didn't sleep at all that night, and he had no unusual bumps or bulges on his stomach though he did notice the bruises on his body. Now seeing the child's body for himself he decided to give Mrs. Nicholson his explanation.

"Mrs. Nicholson, do you know if any of your family or your husband had a history of any blood diseases? Such diseases like Hematologic disease, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Thrombosis, Sickle cell disease?" He listed off.

Mrs. Nicholson thought for a moment, "I think my ex-husband, Evan's father, had a family history of leukemia and anemia. Is that what he has, Doctor?" She gasped.

Doctor Danson spoke gently to her, trying to calm her down. "It may play a part in what he has but we're not sure. We ask for family history as a reference, so it's helpful for me to understand his family history. Does your family have these diseases?"

Mrs. Nicholson shook her head, "My sister has diabetes but that's about it. We don't have any blood diseases that I know of."

The doctor took a moment to find the right words for his explanation.

"I have reviewed Evan's chart and it leads me to believe that Evan might have a blood disease, however it is still too early for me to confirm this. I need to ask Evan to do one more lab test which is going to be a Blood Marrow Aspiration. Do you know what that is?" He asked Mrs. Nicholson.

"No, doctor." Her eyes showed the fear the doctor was keeping at bay.

"It is where a lab technician inserts a needle, usually in the pelvis and extracts a sample of bone marrow from the patient's body. This will allow us to see what is causing him to feel this way, why he has these symptoms and possibly what disease he has in his body."

The doctor began to mumble incoherent babble in Evan's ears. The doctor was using big words that the little boy didn't understand. But he understood enough. Blood disease, a sickness… bone marrow… and needles… how he hated needles. He knew they were going to stick another needle inside of him, and this one sounded really bad. He clutched the hem of his shirt tightly.

"There is no need to worry, Mrs. Nicholson. The procedure is actually safe with minimal risk. If anything your son might experience some pain and discomfort for a couple days but this is normal. I will be prescribing some ibuprofen for Evan to help him out for the first few days. Afterwards he should be fine."

"And they will sedate Evan?"

"Yes. They will apply a numbing solution to the area about a half hour before and then a full sedation to make him fall into a deep sleep as they are about to start the operation. Evan will not feel a thing." He reassured her.

"And the costs of the medical bills?"

"Because Evan still falls into the child category I know he will be covered by your insurance. You won't see a thing."

"Thank god…"

Dr. Danson was finishing the report and sending a referral to the Good Samaritan Hospital for Evan's aspiration operation. Dr. Danson asked some questions to Evan's mother. Evan began to shift from side to side, his thoughts completely on the operation at hand.

He tugged on his mothers' shirt, "Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom."

"Just a minute, sweetie." She replied not looking at Evan.

Evan continued to bounce around. The idea of getting more needles poking him was like living in a nightmare. He couldn't do anything to stop it. He hated needles. They hurt… He stopped for a moment. The other nice lady who was friends with the doctor didn't hurt him though. She had poked him with a needle but it didn't hurt. Maybe she could do it again.

"Mom, I have to go now." He whined.

Mrs. Nicholson finally finished with the Doctor and led Evan to the bathroom. She went back to the waiting room and sat herself down. Filling out the last of the paperwork she needed to submit. Evan sat on the floor thinking about the operation. All of it sounded scary. It also felt like he had no way out of this. He knew he was sick but his mother had already told him this wasn't a cold. This was something else. Something she didn't yet understand. And anything his mother didn't understand he was afraid of.

Tears fell down his face, he cried. He didn't want another needle poking him… Especially this one. This one sounded scary. His mind imagined a needle the size of a baseball bat going near him. He shut his eyes and willed the image to go away. He imagined playing with his friends again. The nice warm sun as he played softball with his friends. Tackling the Mustard team in basketball. When he felt better he wiped his tears and left the bathroom.

He turned the corner and bumped into Luz.

"Oh, I'm sorry Evan. I didn't see you there." She looked down at his wide red eyes and knew something was up.

"What's wrong?" She knelt down to his level.

He shook his head and he muttered a defeated, "Nothing."

"It can't be nothing, little guy. You were crying, right?"

"I wasn't crying! Boys don't cry." He defended himself, but he couldn't stop himself from letting out more tears.

Feeling sympathy for the child, she gave him a hug.

"Here, why don't we get you something warm to drink? Do you like hot chocolate?"

He nodded yes, wiping his eyes with his jacket sleeve.

"Luz, is there anything else you wanted to add to Evan's report. I'm sending the referral over to Good Samaritan hospital." Doctor Danson turned the corner and was met with Luz standing next to Evan.

"No, Doctor. That was everything I wanted to add. Is Mrs. Nicholson still filling out the forms?"

"Yes, she is." He nodded.

"Evan wants to talk in private so I'm taking him to the lounge for a cup of hot chocolate. Would you mind letting Mrs. Nicholson know that Evan is with me?"

The doctor nodded; he somewhat knew what Evan wanted to talk to Luz about. Luz was good with children and he knew she could handle the situation. A small pang of regret hit the doctor. Maybe he should have explained it to Evan too. His main concern was his mother, however. He gave a small smile towards Luz and Evan and walked back to the reception. Luz knew what she was doing.

The doctor passed by his office to grab some information pamphlets on the aspiration for Evan and brought it to Evan's mother, and told her that Evan was with his assistant for the moment.

Evan stared at the creamy brown liquid for the longest time. Luz wanted Evan to speak first but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

"Are you trying to set your chocolate on fire?" She spoke.

"Huh?" He gave her the most lost expression that Luz couldn't help but laugh.

"You kept staring at your mug. I thought you were trying to set it on fire."

Evan broke out a small smile. "I wish I could do that. I could set my problems on fire and watch them burn away."

"What problem?" She inquired.

"The doctor said I needed to get a blood narrow inspiration."

Luz blinked before she pieced together what Evan was trying to tell her, "Oh. You mean a blood marrow aspiration."

He nodded solemnly, "I know it's where they poke me with a giant needle." Evan looked like he was going to cry.

Luz thought for a moment what she was just told; that means that Evan had some sort of blood disease, or the doctor wanted to rule the theory out. Luz vaguely remembered a procedure like that involving a thick type of needle to extract blood marrow. She could see why Evan was scared.

"You don't have to be afraid, you know. The doctors will put you to sleep so you won't feel a thing." She reassured him.

"Really? I won't feel a thing?"

"Nope! You won't even remember." Luz spoke softly to him. The thought was comforting but he wasn't sure.

"But, I'm still scared. What will they do to me?"

Luz debated to explain the procedure. If she said the wrong thing, she would scare him. But she also felt that as the patient, Evan would have to know what's going on too.

"Do you know why they do the procedure?"

A shake of the head no.

"Because the doctors want to know what is making you sick," She saw some paper and some markers on a table nearby and went to go pick them up and bring them to the table. She drew red blood cells in red and squiggly cells in blue. "Do you see these little guys?" She pointed at the red blood cells.

"These red guys are your blood cells. They make up your blood. Think of them as people in the city, like you and me." She waited for his nod making sure he understood."

"These blue guys are your white blood cells. They help fight against the bad guys like germs and colds… and cooties."

Evan giggled.

"Think of the blue guys like soldiers. They protect the red guys, the red blood cells."

She drew some villain looking cells in green marker and labeled one as "germs", another as "colds" and a noodle looking one as "cooties".

Luz continued her explanation, "The doctors want to know what's making you sick. When you don't have enough red blood cells your body becomes weaker and you get sick a lot. If they can do this procedure and find out what's making you sick, they can help you get better."

Evan stayed silent for a minute. "I don't want to do it though. It's scary…"

"I know," She covered Evan's hand with her own, "But I promise you that it'll help you."

"Can you do the procedure?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes, "Please?" He stressed.

"I don't think the other doctors will let me do it." She gave a slight chuckle, "But do you want me to go with you? I can ask the doctor for the day off just to go with you."

Evan thought about it and thought it was the best compromise ever.

"Okay. Please go with me." Luz smiled and allowed the boy to finish his cup of hot chocolate before she led him back to the reception and spoke with his mother.

"Mrs. Nicholson, how is your financial aid situation?" Luz asked, referring to the aid she helped the woman fill out to receive financial aid.

"Oh, very well thank you. I'm receiving aid left and right," She smiled, "I was able to quit one of my jobs. It's nice to actually sleep in on my days off." She joked.

"I'm glad to hear it. The doctor gave you the referral for the Aspiration procedure to Good Samaritan Hospital?"

"Yes, I am really scared about what's going to happen with Evan."

"I will be there with you, Mrs. Nicholson. Give me a call when you make the appointment and I'll go with you."

"Are you sure? I don't want to take you away from other work."

"Not at all. I promised Evan I would be there for his procedure."

Mike Hell walked around the construction site building, observing choke points and weak spots in the infrastructure. He didn't intend to let the fight run into the streets. Cleaning up a crowd would be doable but unfortunate.

He wondered what that brat was up to; whether he had sold those demons out to be lackeys or to be ruthlessly killed, Mike cared not. His tenure in this town would one way or another, end tonight.

The three siblings arrived at the construction site once more. Sara glared at the spot where she had been knocked into, turning back to Geiney, "No recklessness. At all. If you mess up like you did with Luke, we'll die. I'm half-tempted to send you home right now even."

Luz intervened on his behalf, "The tyke was afraid of us, Sara. Considering what you did to Raviel, he was right to be."

"What!?" Sara exclaimed, hurt by her sister's words, "He was a demon! It's our job!"

"Our job is protecting ourselves and others," Luz firmly replied, "Not attacking demons like wild animals. You let your rage consume you."

Sara bit her tongue. She very nearly said terrible things, but she managed to regain herself, "Maybe I acted hastily. I just didn't want to regret letting him go."

"You wouldn't have," Geiney spoke up, "He… wasn't even fighting. Just playing around…"

"…We'll worry about that after we kill this guy," Sara opened the door to the darkened room to spot Mike on the walkway above them, grinning down, "Oh, great…"

As the three siblings entered the room and the double metal doors closed behind them, Mike clapped, "I applaud your work. Gabbriel and Raviel were both weaklings, of course, but exterminating them both in one attack is an astounding feat. I hear that hooded fellow you fought was also hard-pressed for a moment there."

Geiney stepped forward confidently, "That wasn't Jeremy, was it? He was way too strong. Had powers no one else did."

"I didn't call him Jeremy, did I?" Mike laughed at Geiney's confused expression, "Pay attention to my words, fool."

"You're the fool for challenging us," Luz replied confidently, "We're a family and we won't lose to the likes of you!"

Mike smirked at the trio, not concerned in the slightest, "Do you know why we named ourselves after the angels?"

Geiney guessed, "Lack of creativity?"

"Because we were warped, twisted versions of their ideals," Mike coolly explained, "Gabbriel was a terrible messenger, focusing on harsh words than meaningful ones. Yuriel judged the sins of all humans, not just the wicked; working for God's 'real' chosen people… The demonic entities made by Lucifer himself. Much like that one judges demons, really."

Sara yelled back, "Humans aren't inherently evil like you!"

Mike ignored her outburst, "Raviel the healer only wanted to bring idiotic pacifism into the midst and never did his job. Losifer made contracts with others to absorb their powers and lorded it over us, as ugly and stupid as he was. A shame that were I to ever perish, my powers would go to him."

Something finally made sense to Geiney in that moment. If Losifer was the one Luke killed and the cloaked figure absorbed Raviel's powers… No…

"I… am not happy to admit that I want is the judgment of the world," Mike haphazardly aimed a finger at the trio, grinning, "In one strike, I'll end you."

"Who are you judging?" Geiney asked, confused by his motives, "What do you want?"

Mike sighed, shaking his head, "The Source must be dominated by only I, of course. I wish to destroy it!"

Sara's eyes widened, "You would damn your own kind!?"

"There is a legend… A legend that a chosen hero could destroy the Source forever. This was nonsense that I heard once or twice," Mike recanted an old story, "An idiotic idea. The Source has been destroyed multiple times, always coming back. However, it gave me a great idea. If I destroyed it, became strong enough to actually end its existence, I could remake demons in my own image."

"And what image would that be?" Geiney pried further, trying to distract the monster from the fight.

Mike cackled, his voice reverberating from every steel corner in the building, "Less of the lot I've worked with; the pacifists and the weaklings, the idiots who expose themselves and the delusional, too!"

Luz disregarded his assertions easily, "You're… quite delusional yourself."

"Your lack of faith is noted… I'll remember that after I peel away your flesh, little girl!" Mike erupted into bright pink light, the energy in him growing stronger, "I'm not like the other demons you've fought… I am far beyond such puny powers!"

…

"What do you think?" Luke asked Silas as the two oversaw the battle through a small magical device planted in the ceiling of the 'arena'. The two were situated at the top of a nearby building, the sun slowly beginning to set in the distance. The darkness of the interior of the fighting area would only grow darker.

Silas watched Mike's power overflowing and glanced over at the sisters, "He really is far above them. Even you would struggle against might like that."

Luke scoffed, "That so? Well, if they weaken him down enough… I won't mind then."

"You could help him," Silas pointed out the obvious; "The contract with the dark witches might be worth your efforts."

"And miss out on the fun of watching them grow?" Luke laughed the idea off, "Ridiculous."

Silas smiled to himself, thinking of one Whitelighter, "Speaking of, someone's noticed our device. If she tracks it down…"

Luke rolled his eyes, "Let's stay on the run, then; can't let your new girlfriend spot you being a bastard." Donning his hood, Luke snickered as he began flinging himself from rooftop to rooftop.

Silas glowered at the man as he reluctantly followed, also intrigued by the battle that would soon rage below.

…

As the power lit the room brightly, Mike began pulling it in, bending it to fit inside himself. Looking at the surprised, horrified faces of his victims brought him satisfaction immeasurable by words.

"Who's first!?" Mike shouted out, confident they couldn't even touch him.

Luz whispered to Geiney, "He's tough… Tyke, we're going to try and distract him. Get the book from your bag and look for a spell, any spell. We're definitely going to need the book for this one."

Sara stepped forward and channeled the energy around her into her body, "We'll see if you can survive just me."

Mike dropped down, his tie flying upwards from the small jagged bursts of power, the hot pink color flowing freely, "We'll see what breaks first… Your spirit or your bones!"

Sara jumped forward, delivering a hard punch, amplified by her magical abilities, knocking Mike off of his feet to the floor, "Easy does it, big man."

"You are strong… That brat didn't lie," Mike lifted his body up off of the floor, "Show me more of your spirit, then!"

Sara moved for him, preparing another powerful punch.

Mike waved a hand, unleashing a burst of pink aura slicing through the air fast enough to warrant dodging. Sara ducked under the attack, feeling part of her hair being pulled and cut from the force alone, "I'm not normally a barber…" Raising his hands, he created two more waves with childish glee, "But for you… I'll take it all off the top!"

Sara flew towards the ground, moving underneath his attack, delivering a sharp kick to his jaw, sending him hurtling through the air into a nearby metal container, the entire side bending in from the force of Mike's body slamming into it.

"How's… that!?" Sara answered his attacks with her own, confidently facing her prey.

"Good… Good…" Mike stood up, blood leaking down the right side of his mouth, "You certainly have spirit. Would your siblings be as much a challenge?"

Sara stepped in between her siblings and Mike, "I won't involve them if I don't have to."

Mike sighed, disappointed in that response, "Then I'll just force you to."

Mike lunged for her with speed of his own, grabbing her by the mouth and lifting her effortlessly. Sara delivered a hard kick to Mike's arm, a crunch ringing out as Mike winced in excruciating pain, "Let… go!"

"Without momentum…" Mike slammed his fist into her gut, opening his palm and blasting her with pink energy, pure power weighing against her body as he let go, watching her crash into a container herself. The metal creaked as she screamed in agony, "…you can't hit me that hard."

Sara lifted herself to her feet, bleeding from a cut on her side, her back bruised painfully. Her abilities granted her body greater defense, but it wasn't invulnerable. Mike had already seen through that, landing a hard hit and slowing her down. He was a tactical fighter.

Luz quietly pushed Geiney to the back with the book, readying herself at Sara's side, "Sis, I'm here!"

"I can… take him…" Sara said in clenched teeth, "I… can protect you… Like our parents used to."

"Maybe you can…" Luz charged up energy into her hands, Brandon on her mind once more, "But better safe than sorry."

Mike softly laughed, "Ah, yes, the middle child. A tough role to fill, isn't it? I was one in my past life."

Luz stopped herself for a moment, "That so?"

"I was also the least favorite. Despite the fact she gave birth to us all, I was the one she thought of last… And that infuriated me… I started wishing I was better and something… Granted my wish."

Luz frowned, "That's why you became a demon?"

Mike nodded, "I mean, I didn't readily kill others for my own enjoyment, of course. I was much like that friend of Geiney's, really. Alone and unwanted, I desired to feel like I mattered. Eventually, through working for others, I began to… But I wanted to do what I wanted in life."

"What was… that…?" Sara choked out in between breaths, deciding that they needed to buy time for Geiney.

"Losifer was just a small town boy wanting to be famous. He sold his soul to have a chance at it, but the person he signed a contract with took his looks as payment," Mike began to list off his fallen comrade's past lives, "Gabbriel was a postal service worker who lost his family in a natural disaster. He was hoping they'd revive his family, but instead he just became their lackey messenger."

Luz thought about the way Gabbriel acted. He seemed resentful of having to deliver any message and ended up taunting her before he got around to it.

"Yuriel was the only witness to a brutal murder involving his mother that went unsolved because the defendant was the kid of the some local rich real estate boss. He sought justice himself, made a soul-losing deal, and slaughtered that little town off of the map piece by piece," Mike's face softened, the only time it ever had around anyone, "And Raviel was a young man diagnosed with terminal cancer, never living past his teenage years. His only wish was to live."

"That's…" Sara trailed off.

Mike snarled at her, "That boy you killed."

"That's not… But most demons are just ruthless murderers!" Luz tried to defend her sister.

"We aren't like that," Mike plainly said, "We're not in your spell book. We don't prey on emotions. We're a group of lowly demons who were consumed by our pasts. What difference does it make if we're human or demon?"

Sara asked, just to be sure, "…Is this… Killing us… What you would have wanted as a human?"

Mike paused there, closing his eyes, "I just wanted attention. Perhaps if I chose a different route, I could have made it work. Or I'd become a serial killer and you'd never stop me since… Human affairs are beneath you if demons aren't involved."

Luz bit her tongue, wanting to shout out at him. Sadly, he had a point, "I won't forgive your crimes if you hurt people. Whether you meant well or not… You're the ones who had Brandon's ring! You worked with his killer!"

Mike grinned, the small moment of conversation gone now as he returned to murder mode, "Oh, you're the one Gabbriel taunted. Still not over that flesh sack you endangered?"

Luz roared at him, "Don't speak about him like that!" She channeled all of her energy into one attack like she did once before. Beams of light exploded around Mike, showering him in energy attempting to rip him limb from limb to a molecular level.

The explosion rocked the entire building with such force, the magical device ignited into flames from the intensity.

…

Luke sighed as the machine went dark, "Great… I'll have to check manually…" Nodding to Silas, he offered, "If you could distract her so I could head inside that would be fantastic."

Silas raised an eyebrow, "Whatever you say…" Silas donned a cloak similar to Luke's, raising the hood before slowly heading off to draw attention.

"They're rowdier than I thought…" Luke grinned as he headed for the building on the streets, "But I haven't gotten Mike's powers yet, so…"

…

Lea arrived in cat form to the location just as the entire ground began to rumble with tumultuous force. Afraid that Geiney was hurt, Lea found a nearby window and peeked inside to see the carnage.

Mike had surrounded himself with an orb of pink light. The orb was shattered and Mike was looking worse off than before, his shattered right arm bleeding terribly, his left knee mangled, his clothes a disheveled mess.

He was more importantly alive and angry.

Luz collapsed to her knees, having completely spent herself on that attack, "Damn… He's strong…"

Sara, feeling better from watching that display, taunted Mike, "Not so high and mighty now, are you?"

Mike released the energy around him, a grin taking hold, "Wasting all of your energy in a single attack makes you nothing more than a target."

…

Geiney looked in the book, desperately scrambling through pages for anything that might help. He felt that energy, and the fact Mike still stood ensured he'd need the book. Page after page, he began to worry. No specific spell was made for Mike, so he glanced at generic demon vanquish spells and chose one that seemed appropriate for Mike's abilities.

Resolved to beat this demon, Geiney began to slink back to the main room.

Mike moved towards the sisters, somewhat limping, not at all afraid of what they could do, "That was an interesting attack, I'll grant you that. Best save it for the last push, not so early in a fight…" Mike's body glowed pink before horns sprouted from his head and three claw-like appendages sprouted from his torso on either side, clawed at the end. Mike chuckled at the horror upon Sara and Luz's faces, "This… is the true form of Mike Hell… This is True Hell!"

Mike lunged for the sisters but Sara stepped forward, punching Mike in the throat. As Mike was lifted off of the ground, one of his claw-arms slashed at Sara's shoulder, cutting deeply as she fell back in pain.

Luz called for Ailyn, pleading for her to help now.

Geiney rushed into the room, glanced at Mike, and screamed so high-pitched he reached a church choir, "The hell is that!?"

"Your death!" Mike growled ferociously, a beastlike voice much unlike his normal tone. He let loose with several pink energy balls flinging themselves at Geiney.

Geiney raised his wind shield and felt himself hard pressed to hold it, each impact from Mike's attack pushing Geiney across the floor with great force, "What the hell…!? We should have brought Luke!"

Seeing her opportunity, Sara lunged forward, aiming for Mike's solar plexus. Whispering an incantation like she did for Raviel, Sara encased her fist in power as she rocketed her fist directly into Mike's chest, flinging it back as it began to ripple and crack, glass falling apart before her eyes.

Mike shattered before them.

What remained was far worse.

Red veins protruded through his entire body, his suit destroyed, leaving behind just the remainder of his pants, torn to the knees. As the blood flowed through him, Mike's eyes shined bright pink as his side arms melded into thicker human arms, his head horns wrapping around his temples to protect them, his smug grin returning, "That was a nasty trick, witch."

"What the hell…?" Sara exclaimed in horror, "Could demons do this!?"

Mike laughed as blood fell from his mouth, his teeth resembling a shark's, "This is my actual body. The others weren't strong enough to master techniques like transformation or power suppression. Didn't I tell you I could end this in one strike?"

Lifting his arm, Mike waved it with force, a magical energy throwing Luz to the wall. Without any magical power to sustain herself, she flew with ease, the attack knocking her out cold.

Sara growled, "Don't you touch her!" Deciding to follow Luz's suit, Sara enveloped her body in every last bit of power she could muster, readying herself, "Can you take my best, Hell!?"

Mike walked into her attack as she whispered another incantation, one her parents told her to use sparingly due to the burden it placed on her magical faculties, and hit Mike with it in the stomach, hoping to plow through his body like cardboard.

The smile of her opponent faded immediately as he was launched into the sky, barely able to maintain consciousness from the seriousness of the attack. Sara was by far much stronger than he expected, and he smiled as he wondered how it might have ended if he hadn't gone all out.

Mike crashed into the floor in a heap and Geiney rushed to Sara's side, "Are you okay!?"

"Get the spell, now!" Sara yelled, not taking any chances with Mike. He truly was above the others they had fought, and though his previous injuries still held him down, that just meant his real might would have been higher than this.

Geiney rushed to her side and opened the spell book, scanning through the pages once more in the hopes of finding it again. He yelled out, "Found it! Now we just have to-!"

A small blast of pink energy knocked the book aside and a second crashed into Sara, knocking her into another container, taking her out of the fight as well due to her exhaustion.

A bleeding Mike laughed, a hole punched through his stomach, bruises covering his upper body from her frightfully powerful attack, "Still alive… When you die, I will still be alive."

Geiney faced the injured monster, resolving to hold him off until his sisters awakened. Judging by Mike's attacks, he was pretty weak right now, "It's my turn!"

"The one who fought Raviel and killed Jeremy the second time wishes to face me…" Mike actually paused for a moment, "You're either an incorrigible idiot or a brave child."

"I can be both!" Geiney shouted back as he charged up his wind balls, forming them into a giant blast and lobbing it down the floor as it glided across and blasted the air in front of Mike, shooting through his gaping wound and cutting his limbs slightly, "…Yeah, it cut!"

Mike stood up tall, not content to kneel any longer, his legs starting to function again, "Humans always show their true colors right before they die. What do yours look like!?"

As Mike stepped closer, Geiney pulled up his shield and just launched it at Mike, figuring it could work. The wall of green light knocked Mike back, not expecting such a… creative technique.

Mike flew back, stunned by such a questionable use of a shield and that inspired Geiney to try something else. Creating several shields around Mike, he began slowly bringing them in to crush the demon.

"That's a nasty plan…" Mike coughed out as he powered himself up and pushed the shield outwards, destroying it and creating a shockwave that flattened Geiney instantly.

Geiney winced and cried out in pain as Mike laughed at his foe's predicament.

Mike powered up his body again, a small pink orb floating in his right hand, "This has been so much fun, but… I have a job to finish."

As Mike lifted his arm, the red-coated man from before lifted his arm up higher and quipped, "I said save that one for me."

"I'm waiting… for marriage…" Geiney croaked out.

Mike slammed his arm down onto the coat and knocked it flying, revealing a very annoyed Luke, "Dude… Undercover… Undercoat…" Speaking like Raviel, Luke paused, "Why am I here again…?"

Mike's eyes widened, "Oh hell, it's contagious."

"And I'm stuck with him!" Losifer's voice yelled out, "This was a shit contract!"

"Why are you interrupting me!?" Mike shouted at his… ally?

Luke shrugged casually, "I can't let his family die… Would make it awkward."

Geiney cringed in pain and asked, "Really, bro!?"

"I'm saving you. I'll say what I want," Luke leaned back and knocked Mike away with a blast of fire.

Mike growled, "Fine! Have it your way!"

Luke chuckled to himself, "Is your boss Wendy now?"

"Don't mock me!" Mike lifted his arm and plowed it into Luke, his body effortlessly crashing into the ceiling.

Luke hit the ground now motionless. Mike walked past Luke, grinning at Geiney, "Now that that's done…"

A gasp erupted from his throat as Luke stabbed through Mike's side with a blade of flowing energy, created by multiple auras of different elements, shining bright pink, blue, red, and yellow.

Mike stumbled forward and Luke spoke with all of his voices at once, a cacophony of threatening tones, "Too slow."


	15. True Hell II

Luke stood between Mike Hell in his true form and the three witches, all wounded and the sisters just waking to the final battle between the Power Sorcerers and their coven.

Geiney lifted his body up in time to see the display of force, "Whoa…"

"This power you have is far beyond the place Losifer gave you," Luke spoke openly, "Guess even I underestimated you."

Mike cried out, the wounds in his body finally closing enough to stop the massive bleeding, "Aren't you holding back yourself? The four Sorcerers and Jeremy is a lot of power to be had for a mortal like you."

Luke grinned at his opponent, "Forsaking my humanity this early would be stupid. You're lucky to be running at thirty percent. Holding you off isn't impossible."

"Testing that theory will cost you," Mike raised his arm out and launched a ball of pink energy at Luke.

"Already!?" Luke jumped back, the attack narrowly grazing his cheek, leaving a cut in its wake, "What about the pre-battle banter!?"

Mike stepped forward, holding an arm over the hole in his chest, "I'm way past that, kid."

Luke ducked under the second blast, watching it level a shipping container in one hit, bending the metal inwards like an accordion, "That would be bad…"

Geiney shook Luz awake, his sister finally coming to, "Get up! We need you!"

Luz slowly opened her eyes and when they landed on Luke and Mike in the center of the warehouse, her eyebrows furrowed, "Geiney, what happened!?"

"The spell, he knocked the book from my hands! Help me cast it while Luke holds him off!" Geiney quickly explained, picking Sara up and dragging her still unconscious body out of the line of Mike's sight.

Ailyn orbed into the room by their side, quickly locating the siblings amongst the chaos, "Thank goodness I'm not too late! I'll heal you for this… I didn't know he'd be this powerful…"

Rushing over to Luz's side, Ailyn began to use her magic to heal the sisters.

After stirring further, Luz nodded, "…Thanks… I'll… be fine now." Stumbling to her feet, she focused on the battle raging between Luke and Mike, "That kid got strong. How?"

"He killed the leader of the group. That guy has the contract to absorb the others. He's got the powers of all four and Jeremy now…" Geiney paused, "I don't know which had resurrection powers, though."

Ailyn answered that one, "I was tailing another hooded figure. If they can resurrect demons, there's no way we killed them. I suspect the runner is the resurrectionist."

Geiney winced as Ailyn began healing his wounds, "Did you lose them?"

"I could have caught up but you guys called me," Ailyn glanced over at Mike, "That guy's stronger than anything I've seen so far."

"But why aren't you more concerned?" Geiney asked, retrieving the book and joining their side.

Ailyn paused before answering, "Because that kid may just be stronger."

Outside of the building, a figure in a dark blue robe left a mysterious object, a small watch ticking slowly behind before walking away and being orbed out by another figure, laughing malevolently. The woman's voice didn't reach the siblings as they were too focused on Mike.

Luke created a shield of bright pink light around him as Mike lobbed a powerful blast at his defenses. Luke was pushed away by his attack but could only laugh, "This is your best, Mike? No wonder you failed to make your dreams reality."

"Shut up! Shut up already, damn you to hellll!" Mike created another attack and let it fly. The attack broke through Luke's defenses and hit him head on.

Luke screamed as the attack knocked him off of his feet and plowed him through the air, crashing into another shipping container, folding it in as it curled around Luke.

Mike gasped for air, waiting several seconds, "How did… you like… that!?"

"Luke!" Geiney rushed forward, ignoring Luz's shout of warning, summoning the largest wind ball he ever had, pressing it towards Mike with a yell, "Eat this, you asshole!"

"When did you!?" He noticed Ailyn, "Damn Elders intervening! I'll just crush you again!"

Creating another ball to match Geiney's, he pressed it forward. Geiney sensed this and put his energy into pushing his attack forward.

"Guys… Help!"

Luz quickly noticed what he meant and jumped to his side, putting her energy into the attack. While Ailyn could heal injuries outright, stamina was a steeper job, and neither of the two were able to push back Mike's attack, weakened as he was.

Geiney winced, "Can't you just nuke him again!?"

"No… If I did it like this… It wouldn't work or I'd burn out!" Luz explained, the light from the contact of the two opposing energies blinding her, "You couldn't hold this back alone!"

Ailyn jumped past them to distract Mike but a well-timed finger blast from Mike knocked her out of the way. The Whitelighter slammed back into the wall, shouting in pain as she slumped to the ground, trying to get up.

Sara saw this as her chance and rushed Mike, ducking under his next finger beam, "You really do show off with energy attacks! How's a good brawl for you!?"

Launching her fist directly into Mike's gut, he staggered.

"Now!" Geiney and Luz pushed their attack further, hoping to destroy Mike with everything they had.

Mike realized their plan and grabbed Sara, placing her body in front of his own.

Luz shouted in anger, giving Mike just enough time to drop his attack and dodge, leaving Sara behind to be slammed by the full force of Geiney's attack. Sara was helpless as the wind threw her through the air, leaving her to crash into another wall, her shield around herself shattering as she cried one last time before falling still.

Ailyn screamed in distress as this went on, rushing toward Mike and decking the demon in the mouth. Though she shouldn't have been able to normally, Mike's usage of power and lack of guarding himself allowed her to floor him. She proceeded to kick him once in the head before Luz grabbed her and pulled her away, "Listen! Listen! Just keep her safe! We'll hold him off!"

Geiney nodded and moved forward, using the wind to create force around his body. He doubted it would be nearly as effective as Sara's, but with her out cold once more, the book wasn't an option.

"This is not… happening…" Mike lifted himself up off of the floor, "Seriously, this has gone on far too long!"

Geiney lifted Mike up with the wind he was controlling, barely able to hold him up, "At least you know how I feel!" Geiney threw him up into the air and turned to Luz, "Now!"

Luz powered herself up as much as she could manage and blasted her target. Mike's shouts were deafened as the explosion shredded his body. Mike's magic began wearing thin as it tried to protect him, failing as millions of bruises and cuts appeared and healed all over him before he fell to the floor, unmoving and still.

Luz collapsed to her knees, her vision fading, "Take… that…"

Ailyn lifted herself up and carried herself over to Sara, checking her pulse and thanking the gods she was alive. As Ailyn began to use her magic, she found it stopped working, "…What… What is going on?"

"There's a ward now…" Geiney looked around, "Did he set that up to go off or did someone else do it!?"

Luz was unable to move and motioned to Geiney, "Is he… dead? Can you check?"

Geiney nodded and hit Mike with a wind ball to no effect, "I think so."

"Just check him manually," Luz snapped at him, clearly concerned for their lives, "If he gets up, we're all finished."

"But what if he grabs me!?" Geiney complained about the idea, "What will I do!?"

Luz sighed and felt herself annoyed, "Have the familiar do it! Where is Jasper at, anyways!?"

Jasper quietly hid himself, clearly not dumb enough to do that. Geiney or not, getting crushed to death by that monster was not on his to do list.

"I've been trying!" Geiney squealed at a high pitch, "If he was alive, I'd just want him to show us!"

"With… pleasure…" Mike quickly lifted himself up, bursting with a last spurt of energy, "I had to shut down my healing but I have enough…"

Mike kicked Luz away from Geiney, her drained body unable to resist the attack. Mike reared on Geiney with an angry scowl, "You… You're going to be the best to kill… Just because that dead friend of yours begged me not to…"

"I already tried this fight alone… I can't win…" Geiney accepted that fact and prayed to find a way to beat Mike, "Luke, why didn't we bring you!?"

"No clue," Luke spoke as he stepped out from the broken container, his body completely healed, "Thank god that ward doesn't stop demon healing. Then again, Mike needed that so…"

Mike's eyes widened, "What!? When did you… Raviel!" Mike screamed in anger at the realization that the stoner's death meant Luke was back to full strength.

Luke sighed, "Between you and me Geiney, I didn't go all out. I don't want your sisters labeling me a threat. Besides, with the progress you've made of late, going from weak little Jeremy to Mike the powerhouse here, you'll catch up in no time!"

Geiney winced, "You… really are that strong?"

"Oh, I got destroyed by Mike's attack," Luke openly admitted, "Even if I used everything, I would have had to heal. Plus, since I'm not really experienced at fighting and just mash shit together, I'd never last against a weaker demon with a dedicated skill like time manipulation or illusions."

Mike grimaced, "Luke… You think you can beat me? Even with such little power… I… I can still…"

Luke ignored the combatant that had so totally defeated them all moments ago, "I'm not good at fighting physically, either. Notice with Sara I hit her with magic. I can only dodge."

"That's true, but… Still, you're surprisingly tough!" Geiney congratulated his friend, "Then again, with the absorbing you've been doing…"

"The other caveat is my body's still mortal right now… If I used everything, I'd proooobably die. Painfully," Luke revealed another tidbit into his own findings, "Powering up for this fight really strains me… I'm glad you guys took him down so much. Without you, I'd have died easily in the second phase."

Ailyn watched over the talks, intrigued by Luke's revelations. His body was being torn to shreds if he used too much power which might keep him in check. Ailyn knew she had to check with the Elders to learn more. If his body could acclimate, he'd be alive and well, but if he were to turn down a dark path that would be a curse in disguise.

Mike lifted himself back up, "You imply the death I'll grant will be painless."

Luke smiled and ran toward Mike with reckless abandon. Mike raised his arm to slam Luke down and Luke just dodge rolled under his arm, grabbing Mike's leg and burning it. Mike shouted a curse out and nearly fell forward.

Geiney took advantage of this and hit Mike with a wind ball to the face. Mike fell back cursing once more as Luke roundhouse kicked him into another shipping container.

Approaching Geiney, Luke smiled and the two high-fived, "Perfect assist, man!"

"What God gives children powers like this!?" Mike raised himself up, glaring at the duo, "You don't deserve the powers you have! You just get to be born into them or steal them… But what I do is wrong!?"

"I didn't steal from people because I chose to," Luke turned on him, "I do get delight in taking demons down but you know I'm not bloodthirsty. I told you to walk away. I even made a show to attack you, to drain some of your power to try and see your limits. But still you came," Luke revealed how he had usage of Mike's energy to Geiney, "If you just turn away, I won't have to finish this… Then again, if I let you go…" Luke began walking forward menacingly, "You'd just strike them down one at a time and then come for me. I'm not letting that happen, Mike."

Mike growled at Luke in a rage, "Why would you kill your last possible ally!? We could kill them easily and grow stronger!"

"But if you die, I become the strongest," Luke replied with a sly grin, "Since you want the Source so bad, I'll play around after you've gone."

"What!? You intend to defy the being you draw your powers from!?" Mike exclaimed in anger, "Where do you get off!?"

Luke stopped moving midstride, "Are… Are you actually… That's your damned plan! What exactly did you say it was again!? Becoming the Source isn't any different!"

Mike paused, "I'm not playing around, you bastard! These powers aren't to be misused!"

"Well now you sound like her," Luke pointed to Sara, "Good job, final boss." Luke dropped the act, powering up as the wind flowed around him, "Wind, fire, ice, and lightning… The four elements lived in harmony… Then I did this." Crafting a wave of wind, a ball of fire, a cube of ice, and lightning running through them all, Luke released them as the energies fused together and exploded in front of Mike.

"Oh, shi-!" Mike's words were lost in the maelstrom of destruction wrought by Luke's attack. Mike's entire body glowed as the elements battered his worn body in turn. Luke's efforts weren't in vain.

"Idiot… I was tricking you into using up energy. Without it, you can't defend yourself," Luke shook his head, "Losifer's knowledge of your past worked wonders. You lacked a real opponent before and haven't acclimated to real battle. We had something in common, then."

Mike gritted his teeth as parts of his body withered away in fire, the ice draining him to a crawling slowness, the electricity frying his nerves exposed by the flame.

Luke's voice changed, "And as Yuriel knew, your rage has gotten you into numerous incidents in the underworld. That's what sparked your little coup d'état, correct? You stepped on everybody else for being stupid and alienated yourself." The voice altered again as Luke's language power from Gabbriel warped his tone and vocal mannerisms to suit the soul slain by him, "If you… you know… chilled out… You might have lived…"

"I refuse… to die… here…" Mike croaked out, trying to move away from Luke. His body screamed at him, every last part of it bringing great misery.

"Maybe your victims felt that way…" Luke collected himself as he walked in front of the pleading monster before him, "Did it ever stop you before?"

Mike pleaded with Luke in desperation, realizing his end was nigh unless he somehow convinced him otherwise, "…But… but you're human, right? Don't be like her… Spare me… Show mercy, unlike what she did to our ally."

Trying to use Raviel against Luz, Mike desperately appealed to Luke's human nature.

Luke smirked, "She's a witch hell-bent on slaying demons because of the threat they pose. In that name, she murdered a noncombatant. You intended to kill everyone here without hesitation."

"It's a job, my job! I didn't kill innocents to get here!" Mike argued in fear, greatly amusing Luke, "Yuriel did… Gabbriel mocked the dead, Losifer was a traitor… I did nothing to be considered the same!"

"I told you to not fight them, to spare Geiney if you were going all out. I expected you to lose. Why would I have ever let you kill his family? He's… most of what I have left, you blithering idiot!" Luke punched Mike to the ground, taking advantage of his weakness, "Killing innocents for contracts is no more honorable than what Yuriel does!"

Mike cringed at Luke's fury, "But… But I lost… So spare me!"

Luke kneeled down and gave Mike a sincere stare, "Do you promise to walk away, to not harm them again?"

"Yeah, I do… Yeah!" Mike was practically crying in joy, having been completely reduced to a desperate animal at this point.

"Wow… His pride broke fast," Geiney shrugged, more than disappointed in how Mike had crumbled.

Ailyn folded her arms, "'Pride goeth before the fall', as they say."

Luke smiled and headed for the door, opening it wide and turning back to Mike, the cold air creeping in, "This fight sure took a while. Now, get out of here before I regret this decision."

"…I won't… die here? You're letting me have my future!?" Mike croaked out in disbelief.

"Yeah… Whatever, man. Your future of dying here is done," Luke smiled.

Mike slowly lifted his mostly destroyed body, his legs shaking, as he slowly walked to the door, decisively ending the fight in favor of the witches.

As Mike passed Luke, Luke spoke one last time to him, "Oh… Mike? You're certain you won't hurt them?"

Mike nodded once more, tears in his eyes, "Please... I won't. I promise!"

Luke smiled and plunged the blade in his hidden hand directly into Mike's heart. As the energy in Mike's failing body flowed into Luke, Luke felt his body grow further from Losifer's contract, "Oh… Poor Mike. You wanted to survive past tonight…"

"You… said…. My future…" Mike cried out in a hushed tone, no longer able to speak clearly.

"But the future refused to change…" Luke ripped the blade from the crying demon and turned to walk inside, leaving the remaining wisps of Mike fading into the dark star-filled night.

Geiney's mouth fell agape as Luke walked in and inspected the container he'd been knocked into, "You just… murdered him…"

Luke rolled his eyes, putting his blade away, "Like he almost did you and your sisters. I'll get a violin for you to play in his memory."

"Dick…" Geiney's reply was barely audible.

"For the record…You can coat yourself in magic. When I hit this, it was the magic around me that bent it in. My body would have just bounced off. These aren't that rusty," Luke pounded his hand against it as the metal rang out, "Our bodies aren't durable enough to do that… Then again, mine could possibly..."

Ailyn walked up to Geiney's side and helped him stay on his feet, "Luke…"

Luke smirked, "Said I'd be a test case, right?" He shrugged off her concerned look and headed for the doors, "I haven't felt… different. I mean, that was a bit sadistic, but… Well, that was all me."

"Luke… I really think you should consider removing these powers," Ailyn tried to coax him once more, hoping to reason with him; "You know how dangerous this is now. You nearly died."

"…And I saved you from a similar fate," Luke lifted up a small watch, "Enchanted… Someone else was watching this fight… Any ideas?"

Ailyn paused, thinking to herself, "A group of demons attacked the Cuentas family manor, killed most of Geiney's parents' allies in the battle, too."

Luke paused, "And the name of this massive murderous organization happens to be…?"

"The Demon Fists of Distant Hells. They may have three powerful leaders, too," Ailyn spoke the name so seriously it made it all the more ridiculous.

"…I'm not gonna spare a single person from a group that stupidly named," Luke shook his head, "But if they were directly involved and knew a Whitelighter would be here, wouldn't they have just… invaded your house?"

Ailyn shook her head, "They wouldn't risk making themselves public."

Luke stopped pacing and stared at her dumbfounded, "They destroyed an entire fucking manor and killed how many people? Do witch bodies just not get found? Did no one question a whole manor getting wiped off the face of the planet?"

"Well, that's…. Uh…" Ailyn began to give that some more thought, "…I know it made the news, but… Well, the locals were told it was a demolition project."

"And the bodies?" Luke pushed for an answer, "Or did you just hide those so the families will never know?"

Ailyn stopped mid word before finally speaking, "I… don't really know. The Elders usually handle massive cleanup from battles like that."

Luke sighed in resignation, "Yet I'm the issue. You're fighting an incredibly powerful organization that didn't care once. They shouldn't have cared now."

"So what are you suggesting?" Ailyn's mind worked the answer out quickly, "A third party was involved here?"

"That's my guess. The five Power Sorcerers had a witch for a boss," Luke's words struck a chord with Ailyn, "Does that ring any more bells?"

Ailyn stopped to think, "That's…"

Luke cut her off, "The ward's off, you know," Luke dangled the watch from the necklace, "They need healing and we'd better have this conversation once."

"Right, right!" Ailyn hurriedly rushed to Sara's side, healing her more serious injuries first.

Sara slowly opened her eyes, "Where… is he?"

Ailyn shushed her as she did her work, "It's okay, it's okay… Mike's gone now."

Sara lifted herself up to her feet and gave Luke a cold glare, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life," Luke replied harshly, "Worry about me once we're done discussing the witch trying to kill you."

Ailyn began healing Luz in the background as Geiney walked in between his sister and his friend, "He saved us, Sara… He defeated Mike."

"Oh, great," Sara growled, "You intend to do all of our work for us?"

Luke legitimately looked hurt by that remark, "Like killing Raviel?"

Sara paused, "You mean… that stoner freak!?"

"Freaks kill people who don't fight," Luke glared at her, "He was more human than you could ever hope to be."

"Don't you DARE talk to me like that!" Sara moved towards Luke threateningly, "I will crush you!"

Luke's eyes shone pink, "The little girl wants to play?"

Sara stopped short, realizing who that voice belonged to, "You can't be… serious…"

"You pick a fight with me and you won't walk away so nicely this time," Luke tilted his head, "I already beat you once."

"That was you!" Sara powered herself up once more, the magic coating her body, "I knew you'd join those monsters!"

Sara threw a punch before Geiney could stop her. Luke caught it with his open palm, "You just have to love hitting people who don't want to fight."

"Why….you…" Sara began preparing another attack but Luke jumped back.

"I know about your parent's house now…" Sara's anger faded slightly as she glanced back to Luz and Ailyn, "And how… good people died defending it… Demons attacked them, and from what Geiney's said, you must have grown up with them… I can get why you hate demons so much…"

Geiney felt somewhat surprised by Luke's attitude about this. He also realized that more people had been killed for his family than just Brandon, greatly upsetting him.

Luke pointed to Geiney, "But I'm his friend before these powers get any say. If I wanted to hurt you guys, I would have."

Sara yelled back, "And what if that power warps you!? What if you turn evil!?"

"You wouldn't beat me right now anyway," Luke said it plainly, "So keep to your training and hope it doesn't happen. Because if you attack me right now… Whatever you or the Elders think of protecting the innocent, your brother will only ever see you as a murderer."

"He wouldn't…" Sara glanced at Geiney and remembered his reaction to Raviel's death, "…Geiney… You know I'm only protecting us… Right?"

Geiney hesitated to speak before stepping forward, "I don't want you two to fight… You're both family to me."

Luke's eyes widened when Geiney said that and he turned away, "Geiney…"

Ailyn finally finished off Luz's healing and escorted her over to the other three's little meeting, "We're… good now."

Luz looked from Geiney to Sara, "You guys… We're lucky he was here. We would have died without him. Right?"

Ailyn nodded, "With the ward, I couldn't heal you guys or get you out of here. Even the Elders would have been unable to intervene in such short notice."

"So… For now… He did good," Luz found a softer spot in her heart for Luke after seeing Geiney's true expression of their friendship, "We can discuss what to do with his powers with the Elders… But only once we're ready to face monsters like Mike on our own."

Sara tried to protest, "Mike was the tough one out here. I doubt that… Well…"

Ailyn reminded her, "The Demon Fists are out there after our family, and an unaffiliated witch hired these guys to kill us… Right?"

Luke, still not turning around to face them, answered, "Any… witches. Jeremy, that Alex chick, all hired by the same people. They want all witches in this town dead… It's fortunate that you killed them off before they did more harm than they already have."

"So we have two powerful groups in town, both hell-bent on seeing us dead," Ailyn laid out the facts, "Luke's abilities might be helpful… And even if you don't trust him," Sara practically killed Ailyn with her eyes just there, "He can keep Geiney's schoolmates safe. If they target people close to us… Following the rules or not, I don't want more of this…"

Sara rolled her eyes, "We can't let him loose for security reasons, Ailyn."

Luz rebutted her, "You want to be responsible for more deaths like… Like Brandon?"

"That…" Sara paused herself, "…I won't tolerate this for long. You pull anything, and I mean anything, and I will hunt you down!" Sara pointed at Luke's back.

Luke once again didn't turn, keeping his face from view, "I don't intend to cause problems, Sara… Oh…" Luke faced them, his eyes wet from Geiney's words, "And you're not too old for me… I was just angry when I… said that."

Luke headed for the open doors and walked into the night, leaving them behind to discuss amongst themselves their next move.

Officer Chief Robert stared at the open folders overlapping one another. Inside one was the case of the three murdered women with no suspect and no leads. The three women were said to have studied the occult as they had died near their altars, each worshipping mysterious gods or symbols. The case was going nowhere, something Chief Robert wasn't fond of.

The next folder contained the bloody murder or an older couple. The only notes circled were, "Next of kin: Alex. Alex has been informed of her deceased parents." Another case that was going to go cold if they didn't solve it. Again, no witnesses, no suspects, no nothing. No murder weapon, no M.O, no reason to kill. A whole lot of nothing…

The next crime was the murder of John Lowe, a mechanic who seemed to have been a victim of what looked like spontaneous human combustion. No other evidence seems to point to an external source of fire, or suspect. Dead cases… more dead cases…

How long had it been since he began work on these cases? The public would not like the fact that Robert managed to snag himself three unsolved cases in a row. With a heavy sigh he slammed his fists on the desk. He glanced at the clock 12:42 A.M.

He leaned back on his chair. For the first time he realized his breathing was labored, he felt his eyes twitching uncontrollably, and a weight on his shoulders. He was stressed out. No, he was stressed out _and_ tired.

He put his hands on his head, put his feet on his desk and leaned back. He closed his eyes. Tonight was his Friday but he was spending it going over the unsolved cases.

" _We're uh… um—witches sir. Real life witches."_ Geiney echoed in Robert's head.

He slowly opened his eyes…

That wasn't a dream. He accepted what he had been told as the truth and not a joke. It couldn't be a joke. Nothing he saw could scientifically be explained. Robert glanced down at his unsolved cases, "Well, neither does this." He spoke aloud.

He thought about what Geiney had told him. They were witches with powers and they helped protect people against demons. Someone should make a T.V show about this…

He sat up again. His mind was travelling away from his task but it was a nice change.

An idea occurred to him. He needed a team. One that could help him within the police force. His last partner he had to take down because of corruption. It was a moment he would never forget. Once he found out, evidence in hand, he found his partner and without warning tackled him into a water cooler.

Chief Robert gave a small laugh, to this day he knew that that was the most ridiculous take down he had ever done.

" _Are you good or evil?"_ He heard himself in the memory.

" _Good, Chief Robert. We fight to protect the innocent. We don't use our powers for our personal gain. That's actually against the rules."_ Geiney replied.

Thinking about the family he realized he hadn't seen them in at least a week. He nodded; he had to go see them soon. He also needed to ask them some more questions.

He picked up his things and checked his calendar. Halloween would be a couple weeks from now. He had best go see them beforehand. And maybe hopefully, he would have a team before then…

The next day for the siblings, being the weekend and after a strenuous and difficult battle, they collectively slept almost half the day. While Ailyn had healed their injuries, their energy was practically depleted. It was one in the afternoon before the eldest woke up, followed by her sister and finally a short while later, the youngest. Ailyn had let them sleep. They deserved it after their ordeal the night before. Giving them time, she informed Wong of their first victory against the underworld who was so proud that he invited the siblings to dine with them that night.

Upon arriving at the mentioned time, it had seemed Wong had closed the restaurant to his patrons for just the celebratory occasion. The oldest were allowed cocktail drinks mixed by Wong himself, while Geiney drank tea and soda. After the guests of honor arrived, Wong locked the door and ushered them to the back of the restaurant. Wong only had artificial lighting in the restaurant and no natural light. When asked why, he simply stated it was to catch the attention of wandering customers. Any window was tinted dark making it nearly impossible to see the inside or painted with sponsors or ads.

While the windows were difficult to see clearly inside, he still preferred to keep any magical entity to the back of the restaurant to avoid scandals, not that anyone would be dumb enough to start a magical fight inside the restaurant. Wong's name was feared in the underworld and elsewhere.

The restaurant staff stayed; all of them students of Wong's sorcery. There was the waitress and the cook, and Wong.

After receiving their meal, Wong and the waitress brought the siblings and Ailyn their food.

"To the Diamond Covenant! May you continue to fight for good, the safety of the innocents and kick ass." Everyone raised their cups and cheered, Geiney laughed at the dramatic way Wong had done his salute. He was sure Wong had done the strong accent on purpose.

"Thank you, Wong," Luz nodded, "We fought against a tough, formidable opponent and won. It was indeed a close fight. However, we couldn't have done it without each other and Luke."

Sara gulped down the contents of her mouth, "Yeah, but this means that there will be even stronger opponents. We cannot let our guard down. Not even with a young fool like Luke." She reminded the group. Geiney rolled his eyes at her comment of Luke.

Ailyn slapped Sara lightly on the shoulder, "We know, Sara," She kept her personal view of Luke out of the conversation to avoid an argument, "We can train later, but for now, you've earned this celebration. Years in hiding and you three have vanquished a powerful enemy. That calls for celebration, does it not?"

"I think it does!" Geiney blurted out.

Sara glanced at Geiney, then to their sister and white lighter and shrugged. "I guess. But that doesn't mean we get to slack off. Don't let this celebration go to your head."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Sara." Luz replied.

"Tell me about the fight." Wong said, pulling a chair from another table and bringing it closer to the table. He slapped the towel he had on his cook's apron over his shoulder and sat down. He poured himself some hot tea and inhaled it, reminding Geiney of how Officer Robert used to do the same when he visited.

The four of them began their explanation. The more they spoke the more excitable their conversation was and at one point they talked over each other. Wong smiled as the three managed to overcome their recent arguments to come together for this night. It was a nice change of pace to know a family with the ability to vanquish demons and the like stick together. Wong never really had a family of his own, a decision he was beginning to regret. The closest thing to a family he had was the Cuentas siblings and his students.

"Ai, me. It would seem you have had a long struggle. I wish I could have been there to help." Wong admitted.

"It's okay. You can still help." Sara said. "The Demon Fists of Distant Hells seem to be targeting us. If you hear anything, would you mind letting us or Ailyn know?"

"I would most definitely let you know." Wong nodded.

"Now, if I could just keep training in martial arts, I would do better in a demon fight." Geiney openly admitted his own personal view of himself. The topic piqued Wong's interest.

"You'll get there Tyke. It can takes years to even perfect the basics. Even the gifted never learned their forms in a day." Ailyn patted him in the back.

"What style are you learning?" Wong asked.

"Ailyn is teaching me Eight Methods Boxing." Geiney replied.

"Bafaquan." Ailyn translated.

Wong smiled, "I know of the Tiger form." He lifted his sleeve shirt and showed his bicep. He had a tattoo of a Tiger's paw and three claw marks tattooed underneath the heel of the paw. "When you complete cub training, you receive tattoo of a paw." He pointed to the first claw mark, "Then you finish Staff and spear training," he pointed to the next one over, "Then sword training. Then teacher."

Geiney and Ailyn gawked with wonder at Wong's tattoos.

"There are two other marks. The next one, master. Then mystical. You learn how to fight primitive like the tiger. And you learn how to join with the spirit of the tiger." Wong explained.

"So you become a tiger?" Ailyn thought about it. Ailyn only trained up to the sword mark. Her first charge, Xiao Qiao, taught her how to defend herself in the Eight Methods Boxing form. Xiao Qiao was only fifteen at the time, not knowing she was a witch. However, thanks to Ailyn's guidance she quickly learned how to control her powers and in return taught Ailyn how to fight.

"How does that work?" Geiney asked.

"One calls down the spirit of the tiger and joins with it. Together you fight as one, gaining inhuman strength and speed. It is said one can even tame a real tiger when you call the spirit. Real tigers fear this power and many will become your allies." He shrugged, "But I haven't known anyone who was able to master that level."

"Maybe a true tiger monk?" Ailyn offered. Wong only shrugged.

"Come on, Wong. Show us something." Luz pleaded, wanting to see how the Tiger form looked like. She chose kick boxing as her combat sport when she was little and Sara had chosen boxing. Geiney and Ailyn's style was different but that made their sparring sessions much more interesting; especially since Luz liked fighting against different styles, getting a feel for how other people defend themselves.

Wong nodded and stood up. He clapped his hands twice, "Move these tables out of the way! Quickly!"

"Do you always treat your employees like slaves?" Ailyn joked.

"It helps to keep a good work environment." He replied with a wink, causing the siblings to laugh.

Once the tables were moved he stood in the middle of the room, a calm expression on his face.

He swung his arms, his hands clenched like a claw. He stepped forward, his stance crouched, resembling a tiger on its hind legs. He spun around, swinging a kick then following through with claw strikes and punches. Wong almost looked like he was dancing, his movements smooth and precise.

Geiney imagined Wong fighting against an imaginary opponent. Wong stepped back and brought his arms closer to his head and his leg raised to mid-waist, a block, then he stepped forward and struck the neck. His arms swung side to side, parrying the arms of the opponent. Then he kicked forward then a wide roundhouse kick. The imaginary opponent fell to the floor, limp and defeated. Wong stood on his horse stance and displayed his arms, a tiger roaring over its defeated prey.

He bowed to his audience who stood up and applauded. Sara was impressed; never had she seen a performance like that. She imagined Wong to be a formidable opponent in a sparring fight.

"That was great!" Geiney was excited as a young child in a candy store.

The chairs were put back and when Wong sat down, he popped the question.

"What are you going to do now?" Wong asked, referring to their next plan.

"We are going to be very careful. A group of demons and a dark witch are after us. Ailyn will ask around and see what she can find out. But we'll keep our guards up. Things are changing so fast and it's… It's hard to adjust." Sara lost herself for a moment there.

"I will also keep an ear out. If you need anything, feel free to come in at any time." Wong said.

"Thank you, Wong." Luz smiled. The siblings finished their dinner and stayed for some light hearted chatter, something that didn't involve demons for once. Sara explained her project and Ailyn talked about continuing her training possibly with Wong. Wong was delighted to hear that. He loved teaching. Geiney listened to the conversation, but his mind was on Luke. He wondered what his friend was doing and whether he was in good health. He was worried about him and the powers he absorbed. Wong noticed the troubled child and wondered if he could find a moment to speak with him. Maybe he could help…

Luke, standing in a darkened alley, opened up his wallet and pulled out a small note with eight names on it, though only the first two were visible how he had folded it, "Goris and Barath, the Twin Demons. Known for torturing young witches, these two are members of the lower tier commanders of the Demon Fists of Distant Hells." Mike's handwriting had explanations for each, including the three generals themselves.

Apparently the witch had hired the Demon Fists too, though their dealings with the Cuentas parents were just unlucky if anything. Deciding to hunt down the eight commanders to draw out the real bad guys and hopefully minimize the casualties caused among the local witch population instead of letting them all die as the Elders seemed fond of, Luke noted the possible locations and prepared himself.

Halloween would be coming up soon and Luke wanted to finish this mission around that time. If he did well enough, maybe he could find a way to keep his powers.

As the energies inside Luke nearly dropped him to the ground, he decided to roll back his expectations. Maybe he could just… survive.


	16. The Coming Of Samhain

**Chapter Sixteen: The Coming of Samhain**

The young man, lanky and with eyes completely bloodshot, sprinted through the dark alleyways of the small coastal town. He had no name he could recall, for all on his mind was fleeing the predator behind him. It had jumped on his group, killing his two friends without mercy. The man could still hear the screams as he ran through the alleys to his home, a small hotel long abandoned and used by his boss, a man named Veketh.

Calling him a man was a stretch, but even for a mercenary like him, he was more than anything the youth could ask for.

As the boy rounded the last corner, he saw a man standing before him, a hulking brute eight feet tall, angry red eyes, a nose with large cavities, face flushed from clear alcohol use, wearing only an open button-up blue shirt and torn green jeans.

"Goris… He… That monster…!"

The young demon spurted out as he collapsed to his feet trying to reach his boss.

Goris nodded and several demons exited the hotel, each of varying sizes and builds wearing heavy clothes, the same red robes once donned by Silas and Luke themselves.

Goris sensed a presence watching them and stepped into view, glancing up at the nearly full moon, "We don't have the Roseblood yet but… I won't pass up a good kill. Who's out there!?"

"It's nearly All Hallow's Eve and you weaklings are scrambling about killing witches and witnesses alike," Yuriel's voice ringed out across the mostly empty streets, echoing and reverberating, "On nights like tonight… Your blood shall whet my appetite for justice…"

As the hooded man glowed yellow and he slowly approached the group of demons, the fleeing man busted out into tears, "Keep him… away! Goris, please!"

Goris raised a hand, halting his men, "Don't intervene. This is my business."

Lowering his hood, Luke smiled, eyes glowing pink, "The brute, Goris… Thinking you're so great when you're only the second best on your little mercenary team… Will you scream for your brother?"

"How do you know him!?" Goris responded in anger, annoyed.

"I have a list of your men," Luke grinned with gleeful sadism, "I just wanted your boss, but I'll settle for you."

Goris grew more dissatisfied with every passing remark, "You only found your death here. The witches of this city must be slain…"

Luke rolled his eyes, "Your contractor warned you about them… I'm not so kind."

Luke rushed forward, blade extended, swinging an arm into the weeping man's gut. As Luke ripped his arm through his side, Luke bisected the powerless demon as his eyes turned a shade of red.

"This…is just the best feeling…" Luke wiped the blood off of his hand by shaking it hard, "When you turn the tides on monsters and bullies… Watching the light in your eyes die is worth more than any money…"

Goris's second-hand-man stepped up, concerned, "Boss… This isn't something we want to fight."

Luke laughed at the man's cowardice, "A ward has been placed by a friend of mine."

"So you caged us…" Goris commented openly.

"A cage? No. This is a burial ground," Luke left their view, using Raviel's power to warp time, appearing behind Goris's men, "Try not to scream too loudly." Powering up, Luke grabbed the faces of the two nearest demons and began burning their face down to the neck.

As the others jumped out of the way and Goris stepped back in horror, Luke's smile sent chills down their backs.

Goris walked forward, unflinching in his determination, "You can take the weak ones out all ye want. I'm not goin' down without a fair scrape."

"I'm glad. I'd be disappointed if you did," Luke grinned, readying himself.

…

"So I researched into Luke's condition for incidents like this…" Ailyn spoke to the three siblings as they sat at the dinner table, "There's a lot of information to sift through, but I found some interesting things."

Geiney was legitimately interested in the subject. His family never said much on how humans and magical energy go together, "Well? Will he be alright?"

Ailyn stepped back and leaned against the kitchen counter, "Yes and no. The good news is that, because he's still a normal human, he can't train. He can only grow stronger by absorbing others."

"Mike made him insanely strong," Sara warned the others, "With our last two weeks of training we may have bridged that gap."

Luz acknowledged Sara's comment, "We're still working on our techniques, though. I haven't quite mastered that ability I discovered… Gabbriel wasn't all bad. He saved us in that fight."

Geiney nodded, "And Luke gave me so many cool new ideas to try for wind attacks! I can feel myself getting stronger!"

"If it did come down to that, your training helps. Since he can't grow naturally and as witches, you all have great potential; it means he's always at a disadvantage. Thanks to the lack of demons in the area after all of our little incidents, he has little room to grow outside of our enemies. The Demon Fists…" Ailyn recanted the information granted by Sandra. All of the local demons were being rounded up by the Three Generals for the equivalent of a crusade.

Sara scowled, "Luke's limited in more ways than just that, right?"

Ailyn smirked at Sara's deductions, "Additionally, he has hard limits on the power he can use at any given time. No matter how much he absorbs, unless he actually has the capacity for magic, he's going to have limits on his output. If he overreaches too often… He'll perish."

"What!?" Geiney exclaimed, "Can't we… can't we do anything?"

"Three options are open for him," Ailyn began explaining, "We remove his powers but this puts him at great risk considering our ties to the event. We would have to wipe his and Charlie's memories and relocate their families to protect them completely at this point."

Luz disregarded that option, "We've done enough to mess with Geiney's life as it is."

Ailyn felt her heart drop as the next option came to mind, "The power could overtake him and he'll die… Or it could corrupt him. If he undergoes the demonic process fully, he'll have full control but… What that would do to him, I couldn't find many documents on. The cases that do come up usually involve the wicked, so it's hard to say for certain."

"If he did, we'd have no choice but to kill him," Sara stood up with a determined gaze, "Option three?"

"Luke's mortality… If say, we trained him as a witch… He'd be much less likely to die," Ailyn said it plainly.

Sara tilted her head in confusion, "Don't you have to be born as one?"

Ailyn chuckled, "Then how did the first witch happen?"

"….Uh… Well…" Sara paused, thinking that over, "How did that happen?"

"A deal with a deity, a demon, God… Who knows?" Ailyn shrugged it off, having long looked for that answer and finding little to nothing, "While people have more or less potential, the fact he hasn't been totally destroyed means he has a shot. I'd like to know more about his lineage but…"

Luz disliked the way she trailed off, "But… what?"

Ailyn spoke clearly, "His dad's hospitalized, his mother is rarely home, and his extended family is torn asunder," She should have clarified that more clearly, "They were… wiped out pretty hard, and the ones that weren't seem to have done… suspiciously well for themselves."

Geiney sat up, "Wh-what does that mean…?"

"They may have… well, dealt with something beyond their power. The more I investigate their family tree, the weirder it becomes. How so many of them were attaining fortunes through little to no effort or how many of them end up poor, abandoned, dying alone or taken by diseases within a few days of getting them," Ailyn began listing off some examples, "I'm afraid to think what might have been done to Luke's bloodline itself."

"Is our bloodline weird?" Geiney asked, now concerned.

Ailyn smiled lightly, "Good eye. Yes, our family is just as badly off. Many relatives of your parents have been hunted down, magically or not. Witches and families that dabble with the occult tend to have these weird circumstances."

"You're hoping it's just witches… And not demonic pacts, right?" Luz clarified, showing her own concern.

"I've decided to talk to the Elders sooner than I expected, just to check his history," Ailyn revealed to them, "In the interim… Geiney, has he acted any different lately?"

Geiney thought about how he acted at school, "Well… He's been quieter, more reserved… I think it's because of his dad's condition getting worse though."

"What does he have?" Sara asked as her curiosity piqued.

"COPD. He got it from smoking," Geiney answered her matter-of-factly; "He started getting really bad this year."

Luz frowned upon hearing that, "Oh… His dad is… dying?"

"I just hope it doesn't make his condition worse," Ailyn legitimately felt bad for the kid. Losing a parent at that age is a tragedy you can't ever really stay the same after.

She would know.

…

Luke folded his arms as he stood across from Goris, "Mike sold you guys out. Your hideouts, everything… Seems Losifer kept up on his paperwork. The fact Gabbriel was useful for something must be enough for him to rest in peace, eh?"

"So the Sorcerers are dead then?" Goris cursed, "Venali won't like that news."

Luke recognized the name but he ignored it, "I don't intend to just slaughter the lot of you… Unlike others, I like to give demons a chance. Demon Fists or not, I know you've killed countless witches in the area. You're… a mercenary group contracted by them, right? The Eight of Blades?"

Goris smirked upon hearing his group's name, "At least ya respected us enough to do your research, eh?" Goris motioned for one of his remaining men to bring him his weapon, a steel great axe with an insignia of eight blades of varying shapes and sizes pointed to a center crown.

The axe had a four foot handle, a two foot blade at the end, and must have weighed significantly. Goris lifted it with little effort, his body powered up by his magic.

"We've been fightin', slayin', and pillagin' for decades, laddie," Goris cackled in excitement, "We're not strong like that Mike feller, but we make up for strength in experience! You 'aven't got a chance against me."

Luke felt the rush of battle begin to take hold. He had always fantasized about being more than a normal person and he finally had it. As the pressure on his body brought him great pain whenever he used too much though, he had settled on helping Geiney and his sisters protect the town they called home. As much as he didn't care for the place, it was still where he met the people he loved.

When people like Goris disturbed the little peace and sanity the place had, the blood boiling pushed him to this.

"Your death is quite overdue then… Wonder if you've got bounties on yourselves…" Luke raised his finger and snapped it as fire appeared before Goris.

"Nice try," Goris jumped back with his axe, accidentally cleaving one of his five men to death, "Oh… Right… Get back, ya idiots! Make way!"

Luke folded his arms again, "It's unfortunate I can't vanquish you guys. These fights get so… bloody without those spells."

Goris stopped in his tracks, "Are ya not a witch?"

"Nay, I am but a man…" Luke got into character, speaking in a voice he made on the spot, "Halloween is a few short days away… I think it's long past due for demons to fear the mortals on such a day."

"Fear ain't a word in my dictionary, boy," Goris lifted up his axe high above his head, "Time to squash ya like a bug!"

Goris jumped forward and brought the axe down on the dull side. Luke barely managed to roll out of the way as the axe impacted the ground so hard it cracked and shattered.

Luke raised his arm and unleashed a pink blast at Goris. Goris easily deflected it back at Luke, knocking him back into a nearby building, the wood and stone breaking into the quiet abandoned home.

Goris grinned, realizing how inexperienced his foe truly was, "Easy. I won't work up a sweat."

As Luke struggled to get up, bleeding from his left arm, Goris motioned for his men to strike.

The four demons rushed forward, cackling and howling with laughter as they charged up fireballs and firebombed the young man and the house, smoke rising as the noise was deafened by a spell Goris put up to protect their hideout from invaders.

When their attacks let up, Luke collapsed to his knees, clutching his bad arm, burns covering most of his body.

"See what I told ya, laddie? Killin' a few disposable minions won't affect me," Goris began to mock the cocky child in front of him.

Luke raised his head slowly and smiled, "That's how your contractor must feel… Since they've failed at least three times already, they hire you to round up the weak demons to band together… But putting trash with trash doesn't make more than a dump."

Goris growled and lifted up his axe once more to deliver a final blow, "Never used this axe as a headsman before… But old dogs can learn new tricks."

"Old dogs also get put down eventually…" Luke whispered before muttering a spell, a dome of energy covering him before being pushed out. As the dome expanded, it sharpened into several spears of lightning. Luke laughed with a wild look in his eyes as the spears impaled Goris's men one by one, their screams cut short by the quick deaths, "Oh, Gungnir… You never let me down."

"Okay, they're not that disposable, ya bastard! We had nice time drinkin' together!" Goris raised his axe once more, leveling it at Luke's face, his cold stare shaking Goris slightly, "Ya can't be mortal with powers like that!"

Luke opened his burned and torn robe, removing the magical dagger he kept so close, "The Sorcerers are here… Inside me, Goris. Yuriel, Losifer and Gabbriel, Raviel, and Mike Hell, one by one, they fell. You get the courtesy of being the next."

Goris felt his body tense up as he realized the gravity of the situation facing him, "Ya intend to hunt down my band and… and absorb them for your own gain? And ya said ya weren't a demon, hah! Don't make me laugh, sprout."

"I'll spare you," Luke's words stopped Goris in his tracks, "If you just… Walk away… You don't have to die here."

"Sparin' me but not my men? No dice, kid," Goris swung his axe around himself twice above his head, "On my honour, you'll face the axe!"

Luke shrugged, "Heh, have it your way. Know I won't even give your brother the gesture. Barath the torturer… You two are night and day, it seems."

Goris paused for a moment, "Threatenin' my brother's life to my face? Ya do have a death wish."

Luke lunged forward, dagger at hand once more. Goris watched the moonlight shine and easily dodged it, bringing his axe down onto Luke's shoulder.

The beast of a weapon sheared through Luke's side and before Luke could stab Goris, the brute slammed him hard with the dull side, winding him and sending him flying.

As Luke tumbled through the air, he opened his palm and unleashed a bolt of ice. The ice cut deep into Goris's thigh.

Goris returned the favor with fire. With a terrible scream, Luke landed on his knee, feeling the bone crunch against the ground as he placed his hands together, a stream of fire unloading from his palms to overpower Goris and his entire body.

Just as Goris began to panic and burn, Luke switched to lightning, the jolt blasting Goris off of his feet and into the motel windows.

Luke walked up and picked up his discarded blade, stumbling toward the front of the hotel as he ascended the stairs to the new entranceway. Goris was gone when Luke arrived, forcing him to search the lobby.

Goris jumped down from the second floor railing to attack Luke, the knife flying from his hand as Goris grappled with him in desperation, his body covered in burns and bruises. Luke crafted a shield around his good arm and plowed it into Goris.

Goris croaked out in pain and collapsed onto his back, coughing horribly as he bled onto the dust-covered floors.

Luke walked over to the dagger and lifted it up, turning back to Goris.

"Ya… ya done got me, kid…" Goris laughed, unable to do anything else, "I guess I… let my guard down too much."

Luke knelt down beside Goris, blade in hand, "I'll keep your weapon to remember you by. Any idea where it might be a good place to take it?"

Goris gritted his teeth, "The old Helena Mansion up north would be nice… They say it's for sale, but the whole place has been abandoned…"

"That's a base of yours… Tazrun's, was it?" Luke tried to recall, "When a Grimlock infests a place like that, no surprise it never gets sold."

"If ya can beat me, only Veketh would threaten ya seriously…" Goris raised an arm and gripped Luke's shoulder, "Kill that blasted brother of mine… Truth be told, I want ya to… He's why we… became monsters in the first place…"

Luke nodded, not yet certain what he meant by that, "If I get the chance, I will." Luke lifted the blade and brought it down into Goris's throat, granting the worthy foe a relatively painless death.

Goris laughed one last time as he faded away, his power stolen from him, "…This is the fight… you've wanted Veketh… Don't disappoint…"

Goris finally passed, his body evaporating as Silas approached Luke from behind, "I'm surprised you survived."

Luke stood up and grinned back at Silas, "Before Halloween? I can't die before I see what Ruby dresses up as."

"Aren't you normally… less direct about her?" Silas commented, "Or is this the demonic influence again?"

"If I can take down a man like Goris… I can say that I like her," Luke affirmed his own beliefs as he headed out through the broken door, working his body over with Raviel's magic as he approached Goris's weapon.

Silas raised an eyebrow at that, "You consider him a man?"

Luke struggled to just lift the damn thing off the ground, "Yeah, I most certainly do… The Headsman's Axe… Nice ring to it, don't ya think?" Luke's eyes shone a dark gray on the last line as Silas stared up into the beautiful night sky.

…

Seven demons stood inside the foyer of a large mansion as one stepped forward, removing his robe to reveal himself. His features included short black hair in a buzz cut, several scars covering his exposed arms and chest, a heavy build, and dark purple eyes, "Alright, you lot… I have dire news."

A second robed figure revealed himself, wild green eyes, a crooked nose, broken yellow teeth and a skeletal figure, "Veketh… What is it this time?"

A third figure followed suit, revealing a round face, freckles, red hair curling upwards and deep blue eyes, "Calm yourself, Barath."

"Gurath… You don't talk to me… I'll end you with a thought…" The skeletal Barath threatened his companion without hesitation, his talking jittery as if he was on drugs of some kind.

The fourth figure lifted his hood, revealing long black hair, cold gray eyes, a strong jawline, and an average build, "Erinea and I reported back to the old mine. The guards we left there were totally wiped out. Same with the old sewers and that dock house by Valentine."

The only girl, Erinea, also lowered her hood. She had bright brown eyes, a small nose, long brown hair, several scratches on her face from another incident with another mark they had just tracked down.

"Venali and I took down that apprentice… Jerry, was it?" Erinea struggled to remember, "Venali got mad at me because I accidentally…. Made some noise."

"You jumped through his kitchen window shouting like a banshee swinging around your weapon like a virgin on prom night in a dark room," Venali corrected her, chopping her squarely on the head, "I told you to keep your cool. You even managed to hurt yourself."

Gurath laughed heartily, "Ah, leave her alone, Venali! She's the best apprentice you have, ain't she?"

Venali sighed and pressed his fingers to his eyebrow ridge, "Don't remind me."

The sixth figure opened his robe to reveal his naked body, "Surprise!" The pale demon had yellow hair spiked back, matching eyes, a devilish grin, and the disappointment of everyone in the room.

Erinea looked away, blushing, "Alvomith, for the last time!"

"A demon blushing? Ridiculous," Barath mocked the girl before pushing Alvomith away with a gust of wind, "Stay over there, you eyesore!"

The last demon lowered his hood, a monstrous being, all white with swirling red eyes, the Grimlock spoken of before, "I can't remember why we allowed that one in."

The leader sighed, "Well, Tazrun, he does have his uses as a distraction. Speaking of which, I've located the one freed by Losifer. Alvomith, Gurath, he finds himself employed as a security guard at a place called Abstraks. You are to speak to him. Do not engage under any circumstances."

Gurath nodded, "Of course. Unlike that Gabbriel fellow, I won't mock my targets."

"With our hideouts being taken out one by one, we'll have to strike sooner than anticipated," Veketh announced, "Our recruiting for the Generals is going well but the casualties are adding up and morale is dropping."

"If you'd just let me loose," Barath started, "I could obtain as much Roseblood as we need."

Venali argued against it, "Torturing might work but it's a disgusting tactic. With you let loose, we'd be discovered by the Elders in mere hours."

Tazrun spoke up, "A war of attrition won't end well for us. Halloween is almost nigh. Veketh, you know what I suggested, right?"

"Stealing auras with the kids of Halloween only works if we had more of you," Gurath argued, "You might cause a disturbance on your own, but it's not enough to wipe out people that killed Mike."

Venali frowned, "If our bosses just stepped in, they'd stop more loss of life."

Veketh shook his head, "Our commanders don't care. Demon life is even more disposable than human life in the end. We all come back someday."

"That's why I live it up!" Alvomith shouted from the back, "Right, boss?"

"You can call me that when you've earned it," Venali curtly replied.

Before Alvomith could complain further, the room door opened as a haggard demon stepped inside, "Veketh… My lord, I have news! Goris has been killed!"

Barath stepped forward in an instant, gripping the demon by the throat, "That is not a jest I'll accept!"

"I'm… not! The rest of us… were killed… I had to run… they put a ward down, trapped us… Goris fought the bastard but… But he lost!" The demon croaked out.

"You cowardly wastrel!" Barath brought his hand to the demon's face and roasted him alive, "You left him!?"

"Goris is…" Veketh's eyes widened. He hadn't lost a man since the fight with the Cuentas parents back in the 90s, "Barath, let him go!"

Barath grumbled and dropped the demon as he collapsed to his knees, crying and trying to hold his burning face together.

Veketh strode over and lifted the crying scout to his feet, "Who killed him? What did you see?"

"A young man… A high schooler, likely… He dressed like us, red robe and all… I thought Goris was going to win but… But he didn't," The demon truthfully spoke of the encounter, having snuck out the back door, "I… I think he knew I was running, too."

"A young man… Perhaps the Cuentas son?" Veketh posited a theory, "Venali."

Venali saluted his leader, "Yes, sir!"

Veketh planned out his next order, "Take this man and search for the person tonight. Use the magical locator I provided you back in Detroit. Take Erinea, Alvomith, and Gurath."

"Anything else?" Venali asked to make sure.

"Tazrun, prepare for that event we heard of. I'll allow you to feed this Halloween after all. Stay in the crowd. Barath, you're… I give you permission to use your methods," Veketh begrudgingly said.

Venali's eyes widened, "You can't… He's a monster, Veketh!"

Veketh's stare immediately quieted Venali, "We all are. Without the Roseblood, we won't be strong enough to handle this kid. If Goris hadn't been killed, I might have avoided this… But I'm afraid I have little choice."

"Give it to the others," Venali answered in kind, "I won't dishonor myself with such methods."

"Venali…" Veketh paused. Leader or not, he refused to directly defy Venali's most personal wishes, "As you wish. Any who refuse to use them may do so. However, keep some on your person anyways. In case you fall, others may be saved. Understood?"

The others nodded in agreement, "Yes, sir!"

As the others shimmered out, Veketh sat back in the makeshift throne chair he built in the foyer. What kind of contract had they gotten themselves into?

…

"Kurt, isn't it time to tell her?" A woman asked her husband as they stared up out the window into the night sky. She was wearing a light blue blouse and pumpkin-themed pajama pants, "It's nearly the night." She had a calming aura, her red lipstick matching her black eye shadow, her shaggy light blonde hair unbrushed.

Her husband, a tall man with even shaggier hair and bags under his eyes, a sharp chin and pointed nose, nodded, "Can you believe it, Lynn? She's already fifteen… They're both…"

Lynn smiled at him, "How do you think Victoria feels about Ruby?"

"At least Ruby doesn't have to experience… growing pains," Kurt chuckled to himself, "I was so scared girls wouldn't date me when they knew."

"That you were a werewolf?" Lynn asked him.

Kurt denied that, "That I wouldn't shave."

Lynn rolled her eyes and headed for the bedroom door, "I'll let you handle it. We're lucky Lea grew into his form easier."

"Cats are more docile," Kurt quipped, "I just wonder if they can do both…"

"We'll see…" Lynn waved her arm at him, having transformed it into a cat paw, "Hopefully she's not as catty as you are about this."

…

The day before Halloween came quicker than expected. As the lunch bell rang and Geiney gathered his things and headed for the hallway to the lunch room, Garrett jumped from the corner with a hockey mask on shouting something in Spanish.

Geiney screamed incredibly high; as Garrett's two friends began to laugh, they were cut short when Geiney's foot crashed into Garrett's groin as he instinctively kicked upwards.

Garrett's friends immediately turned to laugh at the downed jock as Geiney blushed hard, pumped his fist, and headed for the cafeteria.

Alice noticed Geiney and waved to him and after an exhaustingly long wait in line due to Garrett's untimely interference, Geiney finally received his chicken nuggets and sour sauce and sat down next to Charlie and Luke, across from Alice, Lea, and Sherry.

"Where's Ruby?" Luke asked outright to the twins.

Lea put his finger to his chin, "Where… is she? Why do you want to know?"

Luke gave him a confident smirk, "I want to get to know her. You guys have been hanging out without me lately. Sorry I've been out so much."

Charlie worriedly asked, "You're not doing anything dangerous are you?"

Shera approached the group and sat herself next to Charlie, "What, is he a bad boy now?"

"I've been doing odd jobs. Helped clean up an old hotel a couple nights ago," Luke lied with a charming attitude, "I have a big night ahead of me, I think."

Sherry glanced over at Lea stealing glances at Geiney and decided to be truly evil, "Lea, is there something on Geiney's face? You keep staring."

Alice whipped her head to stare at Lea intensely, "Really? What for?"

Luke glanced at Charlie and Shera and asked, "So when's the wedding?"

Charlie glared at Luke instantly, "Dude, no."

"I mean you apparently became friends without me. I imagine there might be something, you know?" Luke teased.

Lea blushed as he tried not to look Alice in the eyes, "Wondering what Alex saw in him. Or you."

"Lea!" Geiney exclaimed, "No!"

"I n-never said I liked him!" Alice stuttered through her words.

Sherry grinned at her friend, "You sound guiltier than a death row inmate."

Alice jumped up, "N-no I don't!"

Ignoring his sister's antics, Lea focused on Charlie and Shera, "You're sitting together though and I saw you guys talking after school a couple of times. Maybe Luke's right…"

"Lea, stop it!" Charlie curtly answered his teasing with another strong demand, "Don't encourage him!"

Shera frowned, "Well, if you deny it that strongly, my feelings might get hurt…"

Charlie turned to her, "I didn't say I don't like you, I said we're not together!"

Lea wiggled his nose, "So you do like her?"

Charlie glared at him even harder.

Geiney decided to redirect the conversation entirely, "So who's going as what as Halloween!?"

"I didn't have much money for one but I may have an idea," Luke gave Geiney a sinister grin.

Shera refused to answer, "I'm not gonna spoil that! It would ruin the fun!"

Ruby showed up behind the group and placed a finger on Luke's head, "You. We need to talk apparently. Lea's orders."

Luke smiled at Lea and Lea returned the favor until he finally talked, "Lea likes Geiney, Alice. Get him."

Alice faced Lea with a murderous glare and Geiney could practically see the thunder strike the ground behind her, "Oh, shit!"

Ruby grabbed Luke by the collar and walked him off.

Lea tried to defuse the everlasting time bomb before him, "Look, I said I was interested in him but as a friend, not a romantic partner. He's just twisting my words."

"Is that so?" Alice didn't buy it one bit.

"Why do you care?" Sherry decided to defend her brother for once, "Don't you adamantly refuse to say you like him?"

Alice blushed, "Well, I… I just want the best for him!"

Charlie placed his hand on his chin, "So you. Got it."

…

Ruby finally let Luke go at the area by the computer lab where few could hear much over the intensive Quake 3 battles that raged inside. Luke could taste the salt in the air as the Snow twins were destroyed by the resident champion Moon once more.

"Did it have to be alone?"

"Yes."

"Did you have to drag me?"

"Yes." Ruby was matter-of-factly cutting to the point, "Lea implied you want to be around me more."

Luke nodded, suddenly feeling very mortal and very vulnerable in a single sentence, "Uh… I… Uh… Well… I… I've been busy and… And I haven't… I wanted to spend more time with y-you guys, yeah…"

Ruby folded her arms as Luke lost himself in her red eyes, "Why me in particular, eh? Hurry up and do what you're gonna do. Try to grab me, tell me I'm your fate-ordered groom, all that bullshit."

"Do you really…?" Luke paused, "Fuck this town. Look, I get it may be bad for… an attractive out of towner like yourself to deal with us, but… I'm…"

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Not like other guys?"

Luke shook his head, "Not used to feeling this way. I barely like people. Hell, I make jokes about destroying speeding cars with spike strips 'cause one douche nozzle killed my dog. Charlie's been egging me on so hard because he's never seen this either."

"What is it about me, then?" Ruby wanted to know what made the overly anxious boy before her tick.

"… I…" Luke struggled on how to phrase it. Yeah, his thoughts sometimes devolved to 'Damn she fine!' but it wasn't so simple for him to put it into words the right way, "You're… different. You show strength others don't. And I don't just mean physical… I mean it like… Like if the whole world turned against us, you'd be keeping us alive just as much if not more than me."

Ruby closed her eyes and lightly smiled, "A bit melodramatic, don't you think?"

Luke muttered, "That's my character in a nutshell…" Feeling the Athame in his pocket, Luke wondered if he even deserved this shot, "I… want to know something though."

"What?"

"You're not human… are you?"

…

Silas pressed himself against the outside wall of the Abstraks building. The oldest, Sara, had entered not long ago. Silas's job as outside security was normally peaceful since the place was relatively calm and had only front entrances unlocked. That's why, when a yellow-haired demon disguising as a normal man stepped up to the parking lot with a rotund redhead by his side, Silas knew it could only be trouble.

"A demon playing 'protect the normies'?" Alvomith cackled, "How tragic! Brother, come join us for merry adventures!"

Gurath rolled his eyes, "He's Alvomith. I'm Gurath. We're here to represent the Eight of Blades."

"Seven now," Alvomith commented somewhat sadly, "But hey, we've got just the gig for you! Why play here when you can kill and pillage! Maybe pillage some people too if you catch my drift…"

"Alvomith!" Gurath yelled, shocking his companion, "We're not Barath! Where do you get off making jokes like that?"

Alvomith chuckled, "Orgies and churches in that order. Sometimes together."

Silas fought back the urge to call him out for his disrespect, "I don't intend to work for the Demon Fists or their lord. I can't even remember who… or what I am."

"Losifer raised you from your slumber. You owe him for that," Gurath tried to appeal to him, "He'd want you to help us."

"I talked to him recently. He just wants the suffering to stop," Silas coldly replied, "To be free from the prison he was sent to and nothing more."

Alvomith shrugged, "Well, we tried. Come on, Gurath!"

Gurath tried one last time, "Silas… I know you're strong. I… I don't want my friends to suffer." Silas hesitated on those words, "I just don't want my friends to die."

Trying to be strong, Silas held his ground, "Then you shouldn't work for blood money, Gurath. I'm sorry."

"…Alright then," Gurath reluctantly gave in, "I'll accept your wishes… But don't expect all of my allies to."

Alvomith grabbed Gurath's hand, "Come on and let's go! I want to take our bud Vespa to a strip club before tonight!"

Gurath paused until he remembered that Alvomith was referring to the scout, "Oh… Sure."

"Maybe Vespa can be our eighth!" Alvomith talked excitedly as he dragged Gurath along.

Silas watched on before turning to see Jack, "Jude, excellent work on your first week. Who were those gentlemen?"

Jude looked over with a melancholy look in his eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd lost the chance to join a group like theirs of brotherhood, "They wanted my help but I told them I can't leave my shift."

Jack nodded, "I see. Well, I'm glad to have you. Roseanne, you know her, she's taken some time off and I was going to pay her a visit at the hospital. She seemed well but kind of anxious of late."

"You…" Jude smiled, "You're a good boss, Jack."

"Well, thank you," Jack felt unsure how to take that compliment, "I'll see you in an hour or so."

Jude watched his boss off and wondered if he had made the right call to stay in the mortal world. Was it right for him?

Taking out a small yellow smile sticker that Raviel had gotten off of a bag from his happy meal and gave to him one night, Jude decided it was what Raviel would have wanted for him.

…

Alice grumpily shot back, "Kiss your girlfriend already and stay outta my business, Charlie!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Charlie said once more, even louder and more irritated than before.

Lea winked, "Yet."

Shera asked in between the shouting, "Charlie, want to go to the school dance together?"

Charlie turned to her, "That would be lovely, yes!"

"Called it," Lea spoke in Luke's absence.

"Quiet you!" Charlie pointed at the lithe gremlin.

Geiney glanced between Alice and Lea, "Alice, what are you going as?"

Alice lowered her gaze, "It's a surprise."

"Uh oh…" Geiney felt himself in danger now.

…

Ruby's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"

"You don't have that human smell to you," Luke answered clearly, "You, Sherry, Lea… None of you are. It makes me wonder how you came to be friends."

"Our parents know each other," Ruby gave a little info out, "My dad Mathias met Kurt, their dad, back in high school."

Luke continued his line of questioning, "But am I right?"

Ruby folded her arms and clicked her tongue, "You can't be either. That basketball incident wasn't normal either and if you can tell by smell… What, are you a demon?"

"I… I'm just a normal guy who found himself in a bad situation," Luke opened up his jacket and let her see his blade still in its sheath before sliding it back into his pocket, "I… found something in Geiney's house. I killed a demon with it. Now I'm…"

"An average human with demonic powers who expects me to believe he's not interested in taking me down?" Ruby followed the thought.

Luke winced at that accusation, "If I hunted monsters, I wouldn't have told you. I've just been hunting demons mostly. They… Well, they're trying to kill Geiney and his sisters."

Ruby nodded, "That I know. Lea's his familiar."

"His what?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"…Well, you see… Lea and Sherry are… werepeople," Ruby decided to grant Luke some trust; "I'm not one, though."

Luke scratched his chin, "That's… certainly interesting… May I ask what you are?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and finally capitulated, "My mom's a witch herself, mostly retired. My dad's a vampire."

"Oh… You're… Well then," Luke stopped to contemplate what that meant for him, "I assume you're not attacking people."

"We subsist on blood donations from friends of my dad's," Ruby calmly explained, "Is that gross to you?"

Luke cut the line in his head of asking if she bit and shrugged, "I steal demon souls. Who am I to judge?"

Ruby looked to the computer room and back to Luke, "At least you know that much."

"On the bright side, you're the cutest vampire I've ever met," Luke strutted past Ruby with a passing gaze, "Forgive me… That was…"

As Luke avoided glancing in her direction and held his head down as he left for the lunch room, Ruby sighed and scratched the back of her head, "Out of all the guys I've met… This one is the worst to like me yet…" Laughing to herself at the odd place she was now in, she followed after him.

…

"We could die tonight," Venali spoke gravely to his companions. Erinea, Vespa, Gurath, and even Alvomith paid attention to his words, "Vespa saw it for himself. Now that we know he's hitting our outposts, we're checking the old Cornwall train track station."

Gurath asked as he sharpened his dagger, "What are the Generals even doin'?"

Venali didn't know much, "Veketh just said they're rallying some nasty humans for a revolution of sorts."

"Vive la France!?" Alvomith yelled out in a joking tone.

"Can you not do that?" Erinea pleaded with him, "We're… seriously in danger right now."

Alvomith shook his head, "No way. Goris was a fluke, I know it. We've the best crew in California."

Vespa stuttered, "W-we're going to s-seriously do this?"

Gurath nodded, placing his dagger in his chest pouch, "We got the Roseblood. We have our plans and our backups. Nothing left but to just hunt him down."

As the five demons looked up at the night sky, a beacon in Venali's hand went off, "Our men at the station are under attack. Between that and our safe house, we have to do this now."

"Let's go!" Alvomith jumped up and shimmered out as the others followed suit.

…

Veketh didn't address Barath and Tazrun when they returned to the central chambers.

"Sir," Tazrun started, "I've located a child of utmost quality. He's weak, sick, a single mother. Best of all, he goes to the clinic one of the witches works at."

Barath cackled, "Quite a bloodthirsty choice, choosing a dying kid. We have some things in common, eh?"

Tazrun faced Barath with a scowl, "As if. I didn't intend to become a demon that uses children you know."

"Talking about why we became demons? Hah! Ridiculous drivel," Barath growled, "Goris only did it because I talked him into it. Always the gullible one, he was."

"I haven't lost a man in so long," Veketh spoke finally, "You would do well to not mock his loss. I wouldn't miss you."

Barath rolled his eyes, "The Roseblood Gang is mine now, Veketh. Once I showed them my supplies, they joined."

Veketh smirked, "And their leader?"

"The only ones of note are the three big guns. Varland the warlock, Jebediah the Ancient, and Miria the Hag. The rest will be sufficient disposable mooks," Barath rattled off names that meant little to him but more power.

Tazrun faced Veketh once more, "We're seriously recruiting this much? We already have that human settlement you've been working on. Roseblood, Grimlocks, the Demon Fists… What does our employer need all this for?"

"The Cuentas family has some rapport with our gang in particular. Before you guys settled in… my crew was wiped out by Josh and Mia Cuentas. I swore revenge on them but that paved way when I met Venali and Erinea trying to survive," Veketh recounted, "Our employer is a dark witch in the city the Cuentas kids live in."

"Which brings me back to why she needs an army," Tazrun asked more urgently this time.

Veketh glanced down at the incidents related to the area, "The entire Demon Fist base army was nearly wiped out in taking just the manor the parents reside in and we registered them escaping. The witch hired us to take down the apprentices, the family, and the kids. Wants to start her own school of witchcraft."

Barath snarled, "Such selfishness and betrayal of kin… It warms my heart to see such initiative."

"Since that incident, we've lost numerous bounty hunters, several small-scale groups, that shape shifter and her partner, and even the Power Sorcerers," Veketh had heard more and more stories about the waves the children had been making so far, "Throw in the damage the parents have done and our employer at this point just wants closure."

Tazrun folded his arms and thought to himself, "This is basically a small-scale war we've found ourselves in. Unfortunately for us, we're now the front lines."

"Bah," Barath discouraged him, "We're the ones fit for the job the most. We may be losing mooks every day but it matters not. My allies will soon turn the tide."

Barath shimmered out and left the other two alone.

Tazrun broke the silence, "He's going to betray you, Veketh. That type always does."

"We've stuck together for fourteen years, Tazrun. And him for twelve. I know what he's like," Veketh grumbled, "The simple fact is that… If we take these kids down, the employer told me we could walk with the rewards. The apprentices are all dead except for one or two and the parents have moved away. Just one last fight and we can put this life behind us."

"And you think the others will? Barath won't. Venali won't," Tazrun argued with him to see reason, "There's no out for us but death. Death you sent them to receive."

Veketh's body tensed, "If we don't track that kid down or slow him down, our last few hideouts will be gone. He'll find this place and then we'll be forced into a fight to survive like never before."

Tazrun sighed, knowing his boss was right, "If they don't come back, Barath will jump you. Are you ready to handle that?"

"The Roseblood Gang is on his side," Veketh knew it had been a mistake but it may have been necessary, "Have some history with them, too. If Venali does by us right… We'll exterminate both them and Barath before the year is through."

"You still want revenge on them after all these years?" Tazrun sounded hurt, "That life was decades ago, Veketh. What they did to Jenn and Myra doesn't mean much to me anymore."

Veketh fell back into his seat, struggling to decide how to feel about his longest companion's words, "I'm just sad that you ended up like this on that Cuentas business back then."

Tazrun shook his head, "What could I have expected when I stayed with you, Dad? Red carpet and a nice home on the coast?"

"I haven't been your father since you died," Veketh stood up and walked up to Tazrun, "Trying to take care of you once… Once I turned to take those bastards out was foolish of me."

"You'll always be dad," Tazrun reassured his father with a hand on his shoulder, "Human or demon don't change family as long as you're tryin' to make it work."

Veketh smiled at his son for the first time in a long while. For once he felt like maybe he hadn't made every blunder possible to him.

…

"We could lock you inside," Lynn offered her distraught daughter, "It's just for the first time Sherry."

Sherry jumped onto her bed and hid her pillow over her face, "But why now!? I was gonna have fun at the party with my friends!"

Lynn felt pain inside looking upon her depressed daughter, "Right… You finally went and met people outside of Ruby and Lea and this happens… I can see now why you're so grumpy."

"Are you sure I can't control it at all? How did Lea do?" Sherry asked with pleading eyes.

Lea groaned from the other room as Kurt answered, "He damn near gnawed my arm off meowing and hissing. Giant cat bastard…"

Lynn glared at her husband before turning to Sherry, "I know that it's rough getting the unruly unwashed dog side of the family but it's how it happens to be."

"I see how it is," Kurt folded his arms, "Cat napper taking potshots at man's best friend."

"I know it's stupid but at the very least, you'll never have this again. You won't miss anything else, I promise," Lynn tried to calm Sherry down.

Still pouting, Sherry nodded slowly, "I… I guess. Whatever." Slumping under her pillows, Sherry ignored every question and comment directed her way as she moped herself to sleep.

Lea sat in his own room and began thinking of a plan to somehow work this through. Deciding the best plan of action, Lea transformed into a cat and decided to check Geiney's house for the magic book. Maybe it had a potion or spell to help Sherry out. Lea would have to blow his cover somewhat but… He owed Sherry for breaking the news to their parents.

Resolve in his heart, Lea jumped out of his window into the night and scurried off to the Cuentas house, unaware that his sister had plans to escape tomorrow night of her own.


	17. The Hunt Of Samhain

**Chapter Seventeen: The Hunt of Samhain**

Danson glared down at the folders before him. How many of these damn things had he gone through just today? Struggling to maintain his emotions, Danson leaned back against his chair. Acute leukemia. After numerous tests, that was all that was left for Evan Nicholson. Danson was going to reveal the diagnosis and offer treatments on the first. He already had enough other urgent cases to go through but he also wanted the boy to enjoy this Halloween.

Depending on how things went, it could be his last. Danson had seen the signs early enough that treatment would be viable, but Evan was so young and even with proper treatment, there was always a chance. It broke his heart to think about it. Luz had been through enough as well. Glancing at the number for the dream therapist he had in mind for her, he reminded himself to ask him some questions later.

Getting up and walking to the window, Danson thought about how quickly Luz had adapted to her work here. She was a good girl; pure of heart and so kind. He was just worried that kindness might destroy her one day. Loving easy doesn't make for a blissful life, he had found.

Smiling at a picture of himself with his old Lab retriever Bertha and a woman he hadn't spoken to in years, he wondered if she might want a call, too.

…

"Do you like him?" Shera asked Ruby as they were crossing a small street in the crowded business side of city. Groceries bounced around in the paper bag as Ruby lifted two in her right hand and a bag of cat food on her shoulder while Shera carried a heavy container of cat litter beside her.

Ruby coyly deflected her, "Shouldn't I be asking that? You're taking Charlie on a date."

Shera blushed and lifted up the plastic container to hide her face, "A first date doesn't mean that much. He might turn me down in the end."

"I doubt he's that kind of guy," Ruby replied with confidence, "He likes the younger sister of Cain Darkwind; the school's resident monster."

"Cain is…" Shera trailed off, "Did he try anything after you knocked him down?"

Ruby laughed, "I kicked his teeth in and thrashed him. The little mage can't do much."

Shera chuckled at her friend's delivery, "I guess not, huh? Charlie actually has the potential too. If I trained him, maybe Cain couldn't harass him."

"Hope so. If I ever catch him doing what I've heard, he's dying," Ruby's eyes shone even redder than normal, "I won't leave a boy your mom could recognize."

"You think I would?" Shera harshly replied to her, "Deydrik nearly did it once when he first became assistant coach. Cain was harassing one of the volleyball players pretty roughly."

Ruby struggled not to tear the paper bag in her anger, "Scum."

Shera decided to drop the subject, "So about Luke, then. You do like him?"

"Does that matter?" Ruby stopped walking as they turned the corner to Shera's house, "We're here."

"It matters to me," Shera set the cat litter down and turned to face Ruby, "You never showed interest in guys before this. Excuse me for being curious."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Being interested in who he is doesn't mean liking him."

Shera stuck her tongue out, "You say that like you're not a tease."

"I'm not…" Ruby gave up then and there, "Fine, whatever. Say what you want but say it to no one but yourself. Got it?" Ruby pointed at her with a careful stare.

"Every night," Shera taunted one last time before the two began lugging the last few steps to the front doorstep of the Darkwind Manor, just a ways away from the town's northern exit.

…

Alvomith and Vespa walked alone from the hideout in a small back alley on the dilapidated part of town.

"What's the deal with this old place?" Alvomith asked, knowing Vespa had scouted the area out on a mission before.

Vespa answered methodically, "The city had been a hub for trade and a port for foreigner new to California back in the 1800s, featuring Irish and Germanic architecture here and there in addition to the small China town in the eastern part of the city. Many of the stone and wood buildings in Old Valentine were just south of the new city, populated by troubled and unlawful individuals. This makes the town a perfect haven for demons in transit between northern and southern California. Hence it made it all the more compelling for visitors since the recent surge of witch deaths opened up the area to more evil." Vespa had been trained like most other scouts to recant information like a dictionary, a problem for Alvomith.

Alvomith stuck a finger in his ear, "Couldn't catch that. Normal talk."

"The little war here has killed most of the witches off so demons gathered here. That punk wiping them out is a serious problem if the Roseblood Gang garners influence because of it," Vespa tried to tone himself down, "They're as much a foe as the kid we're hunting."

"An old man, a wizard, and a hag are a threat to us?" Alvomith wanted to laugh but even he found that joke wearing thin, "The guys at the hideout were fine. And the deal down at Dublin Shores is going nicely, too."

Vespa reluctantly agreed, "Veketh now has an army to make up for his losses earlier. The depraved humans there give us an excellent shot at running the coast here."

Alvomith raised an eyebrow, "We're just a merc gang. What does Veketh want with all that?"

"Guess I'll ask him when I get there…" The demonic duo turned to come face to face with the target, "Name's Luke. And you two?"

"Alvomith, member of the Eight of Blades!" Alvomith proudly exclaimed.

Vespa interrupted, "Seven."

Alvomith patted Vespa on the back, "Not with you here, buddy!"

Luke tilted his head, "Replacin' me that quickly, eh? Veketh sure can be cold, huh laddie!?"

"Goris?" Alvomith stepped forward, "Are you in there!?"

"It sucks ya have to be next," Goris's voice cut away as Luke's returned, "I tried to talk down those railroad boys but they thought they owned the world. Demons are just teenagers with powers, huh?"

Vespa stepped forward, "You don't understand us! You mock us! You killed my friends! Where was their mercy!?"

Luke's icy cold exterior shook Vespa once more, "You work for bloodthirsty mercenaries who have killed how many? Just because they weren't strictly combat-oriented doesn't mean supporting an evil organization is good. Even bandit cooks hang."

"I… I'll stand tall and avenge them now!" Vespa waved his hand, a pitiful ball of fire flying at Luke.

Luke knocked the blast away with his bare hand and stepped forward.

Alvomith joined Vespa's side, "Together then! Eat this, witch!"

The two powered up another ball of fire, fusing them together and launching them.

Luke walked through the blast as the fire harmlessly spread across a shield of wind guarding him.

"Maybe we should get the others…" Alvomith had finally realized this was going poorly.

Luke raised his finger and unleashed a beam of pink energy, the mysterious energy piercing Alvomith's thigh. Vespa desperately tried to shimmer out but it failed to work.

"A ward!?" Vespa shouted out, "How did you place it already!?"

"You think I came alone?" Luke aimed at Vespa, "You want to continue fighting or are we done?"

Vespa growled, "I'll avenge them, damn you!" Vespa began powering up for another attack. Unamused by his stubbornness, Luke shot him square in the heart.

Alvomith's eyes widened as Vespa collapsed to the ground as blood and energy seeped out of him, "Vespa!"

…

Erinea and Gurath felt the energy and turned to each other, having been searching the area near the drains and old sewer pump rooms, "Should we get Venali?" Gurath asked hesitantly.

Erinea nodded, "And the gang at the hideout. This won't end well. Hurry!"

Gurath caved in, "Venali wanted to avoid that but…"

Venali rushed down the streets towards them, "You two, let's move! I left the men behind just in case. They have their Roseblood in hand but… Well, they're into it less than I am."

"If this is half as bad as it might be," Gurath started.

Erinea rushed forward, "Come on! Before they get killed!"

…

Vespa coughed and sputtered as he lay dying, "That… bastard…"

Alvomith didn't know what to do as he panicked, "Vespa, come on! Don't die on me!"

"Will you surrender?" Luke asked.

"You just killed my friend!" Alvomith stood up as Vespa's body had already gone limp, "Why would you do that!?"

Luke folded his arms, "You're here to kill my friends. Do I need a reason beyond that?"

Alvomith shook his head, "If you just beat us, we'd retreat! You could just…"

"And your bosses would surrender? Don't be stupid. Your friend Venali and Veketh himself are notorious for their meritorious dedication to their jobs," Luke accessed Goris's knowledge and memories as it suited him, "Barath will seek vengeance for Goris, tool to him or not. And you, the resident prankster, have nothing in life but to make jokes while people are murdered!"

"And doing it to us makes you better!?" Alvomith dropped his entire act, "You ever think just understanding is enough!?"

Luke laughed at Alvomith's miserable face, "That's cute. You think pursuing justice in kind is wrong but you kill strangers for money. Have you ever even thought about how many people you've hurt!?"

Alvomith stopped speaking as his mannerisms dropped, "People hurt others. It's part of life. Everyone's guilty of something." Alvomith's eyes glowed green as he pulled a set of cards from his pouch, "Being a poker cheat in life was an easy way to survive… Until some bastard shot me down for a legitimate victory of mine. Those men were avaricious and killed me over four dollars. Can you believe it!?"

"Oh? An old saloon poker player?" Luke actually felt himself intrigued, "Perhaps you know more about human nature than I thought."

"Maybe…" Alvomith refused to divulge any more.

Luke sighed, "Getting killed for cheating isn't a great way to die. But hunting down people like dogs and justifying it with weak philosophical bullshit? Guess you lost your spine when you hit the earth."

Alvomith glanced up as his eyes went wild, his expression quickly becoming manic, "I'd watch your mouth, kid. My card skills are still…" Alvomith swung his hand, two cards flying at Luke and cutting both of his cheeks, "Sharp."

"Now I get why the Blades hired you," Luke began to draw energy to himself, "Vespa won't compare to you."

"Bastard!" Alvomith lifted his arm and laughed as green energy surrounded his cards. The cards ascended into the air before flinging themselves at Luke from every direction.

Luke dodged the first twelve with rolls and leaning back under three, one grazing his robe. As more tried to strike from behind, Luke's shield pushed them away. Luke sprinted for Alvomith who created another ball of fire in his hands.

All at once, every one of Alvomith's cards converged on Luke but with one last burst of energy pushed through the pain as they shredded his back and legs, launching himself through Alvomith's fire, Athame in hand.

Alvomith just smiled as the blade pierced his chest, feeling his energy draining away. Alvomith coughed up blood and smiled wide, "I'll just… watch you die to my friends… Evil or not… We're family…"

"I never said you weren't, Alvomith. But you spent too long playing around and less time trying to defend them," Luke rebuffed him, "Living life to the fullest isn't wrong but… It seems you never learned to balance needs and wants, huh?"

"You sound like Venali… Do him a fair match if you could…" Alvomith fell backwards as Luke ripped out the knife. With all of his life force drained, Alvomith slowly began to fade into darkness.

Gurath, Erinea, and Venali arrived just in time. Luke jumped back and watched.

Erinea cried out, "Alvomith, no!?"

"Vespa too!?" Gurath growled, reaching for twin daggers on two separate pouches, "You bastard…"

Venali quickly knelt by Alvomith's side and tried to lift him up. Alvomith's body couldn't withstand even that, breaking faster as Venali's hands crushed what remained, "Alvomith… You can't die on me…"

Alvomith laughed, "Guess I let you down, Boss… It's only the Six of Blades now…"

"You didn't… You didn't have to fight him!" Erinea shouted out, "If you just waited…"

"Vespa wouldn't stop… He killed him and… I couldn't just let Vespa die…" Alvomith croaked out, "It's a shame I learned my lesson… and died for it anyways."

Luke's voice shifted once more, a familiar and hateful tone resonating harshly, "This was never your story."

Gurath stepped forward, "You bastard!"

"Gurath, wait!" Venali reached for him but Gurath was already lunging forward.

Luke's eerie smile amplified as he waved his hands. The cards on the ground lifted up and charged at Gurath, cutting both of his arms at the tendons and forcing him to drop the blades. The cards collected themselves into a deck in Luke's hands, "The Joker Deck is a fine name for a poker-playing prankster pitifully pining for pathetic scouts pretending to prevent pain-spreading."

"Fine then…" Gurath whipped out his signature weapons, two large chakrams with several blades lining each, "Take this!"

With orange magic surrounding the chakrams, Gurath threw both at Luke. Luke placed the cards in his robe's inner pocket with casual indifference as he ducked under the blades. The blades switched directions on a dime, one cutting deep into Luke's right arm as he lifted it to escape a full severing.

Erinea joined Venali's side, "We jump him, right!?"

"It's Gurath's choice to fight…" Venali warned her, "We could but that would be distasteful."

"I'd rather be dishonorable than a casualty for Veketh to mourn!" Erinea jumped up and charged her own body up. As energy seeped in her, flowing through her veins like blood, she lunged forward.

Luke just smiled at her, ducking a hard punch and grabbing her extended arm, tossing her into one of the chakrams. Erinea shouted and used her free arm to block the blade with a shield that just barely survived reversing its course.

Gripping the safe part of the other one, Luke overwhelmed Gurath's energy with his own and tossed it back. The sharp blade whipped through the air fast enough to howl and severed Gurath's right arm cleanly.

Erinea shouted out in anger and decked Luke through the brick building he was next to and prepared to jump in after him.

Venali stopped her, grabbing her shoulders and throwing her towards Gurath, "Erinea, stop. Take Gurath to the hideout, heal him, and leave this place! Retreat for now!"

"I'm not going to leave you, Venali," Erinea warned him, "We joined Veketh together. I won't run."

"If you don't, Gurath might die," Venali urged her, "If I can't take him, none of us will."

Erinea continued arguing with him as Gurath struggled to stand, "Together we'll have a better chance!"

Venali raised a wall of fire between Luke and the two, "Or you'll get in my way. We didn't train for teamwork combat well enough to handle him. Just listen to me!"

"I have been!" Erinea screamed back at him, "For years! Ever since mom and dad died… I won't feel that way again, damn you!" Erinea pushed Venali out of the way, rushing through the fire.

She was welcomed with a powerful uppercut back through the fire and slammed into the wall of the adjacent building, cracking bricks into powder as her fierce energy pressurized them to dust.

"I won't die that easy…" Luke wiped the blood from his mouth as his body slowly healed, "Now if you'd just relax-!"

Venali kicked Luke in the gut and blasted him away with more fire, running to Erinea's side and forcing her to her feet, "See what I mean!? Just run!"

Erinea's eyes began to water, "But… But I can help…"

"I don't want nor do I need your help!" His stress on the word 'your' broke his sister's heart. Erinea lifted herself up and started crying more, "From the moment you ended up in that god damn bath tub I've been forced into this life… Fucking leave already!"

"You…" Erinea slapped Venali hard enough to drop him before running to Gurath, lifting him up, and sprinting to the hideout.

As his comrades left the field, Venali jumped into a more open area of the town and prepared himself. He felt the vial of Roseblood jingle in his coat pocket as he scanned his environment for the intruder.

Luke appeared across the town square from him, "Venali."

"Who are you?" Venali decided he would buy some time for his allies. If he could distract the enemy long enough to escape himself, they could cut their losses.

"Luke. A friend of the Cuentas family." Well, two of them. "You and Erinea, siblings. You joined a demonic pact to save the soul of your sister as she had attempted suicide in a bathtub five months after being adopted by your aunt and uncle, correct?" Luke thanked Alvomith and Goris for being very courteous and friendly to their fellow members.

Venali chuckled at Luke's display of information, "So you know what Alvomith and Goris know. Interesting… Actually, that reminds me… I was told the Power Sorcerers were absorbed by you."

Luke humored the mercenary, "Every last one. Why?"

"I knew them," Venali spoke with a melancholic tone, "I was hoping to at least know of how they died."

"Well, Yuriel tried to kill me and a friend. I just so happened to have this…" Luke displayed the Athame, "Killed him, absorbed his powers, and had a great old time."

Venali's mind turned over every word in his head, "Not a great start to the demonic world. No wonder you hunt us like dogs."

Luke put the blade back into his coat, "Not at all. Gabbriel… Well, he mocked the middle sibling's dead boyfriend and earned himself a complete disintegration. That little shit Losifer's contract and power meant he took those powers. Raviel was kind enough to betray him and I absorbed them both."

"Gabbriel always had a big mouth. Losifer, the ambitious fool. Mike was the one he was banking on dying," Venali realized how crafty that worm had been, "Despicable, really. Hated him."

"Raviel was murdered by the oldest sibling in cold blood. Nearly did her in in anger," Luke didn't like that part of his life at all, "And then we teamed up and killed old Mike. Fantastic battle, much more impressive than these little side shows your minions put on."

Venali ran a hand along his sheathed blade, knowing he would soon strike, "They attack you first and you cut them down right? That's why you killed Vespa and Alvomith too."

Luke glanced over at what remained of Alvomith and Gurath's severed arm, "Bloody business that. However… I won't kill you if you just turn your back on the job."

"Is that your aim?" Venali realized what he was doing, "Hunting us down one by one, trying to talk us down, and killing those who refuse?"

"Why do you think Vespa lived?" Luke revealed to Venali's shock, "He turned and fled. No attacks, no retaliation. Not hard to figure out but your bloodthirsty guards probably can't even read."

Venali theorized how to get himself out of this mess but he felt bound to speak truthfully, "I won't turn back on this job. I owe Veketh my life and my sister."

Luke glanced back at where she had run off to, "The one you broke the heart of so you could spare her what you believed you'll get from me, right?"

"That's…" Venali had to grant the young man that he was aware of the merc emotionally, "After doing that, I feel compelled to fight you."

"It's a shame. You seem like a nice guy," Luke powered himself up once more, "I'll make this quick."

Venali unsheathed his blade and charged forward, "En garde!"

…

Erinea stumbled over herself multiple times as she finally heaved Gurath's body onto the stairs of the hideout, "Hello!?"

Not a single voice returned her call, greatly worrying her. Gurath coughed several times and placed pressure on his wound, "What the hell…?"

"They're inside and asleep," A man in a red robe shocked them both, "Tried to kill me when I set the ward."

Silas removed his robe and Gurath's eyes widened, "You!?"

"Luke and I have done well for ourselves exterminating the rodents," Silas disdainfully talked of the group, "Spilling innocent blood for the sake of money, there's no greater sin!" His angry shout surprised even Silas himself as he tried to discern where such strong feelings came from.

Erinea placed herself in front of Gurath, "He's the guy Losifer freed!? When did he join the witches!?"

Silas eyed them up, "Not a member of their little group at all, I'm afraid. Luke and I have a mutual partnership and this is part of that agreement."

"It's a friendship," Luke corrected him. "You paid your debt long ago."

"…Venali… Where is he!?" Erinea was in hysterics now, "What did you do to him!?"

Trying to gauge her next move, he answered simply, "Took him down. And if you insist on fighting, you'll be right behind."

Silas snapped his fingers and the guards inside awakened, "That being said, I don't kill personally. I like the support role more."

Erinea's guards rushed out and noticed Luke and Silas. One of them asked, "Where's Venali!?"

"He… he killed him," Erinea pointed at Luke. She wanted to be angry; she was trying but the grief was overcoming even that.

The twelve demons growled and cursed in anger, each one pulling out spells and small weapons from daggers and axes to short swords and mauls, "You bastard!"

Luke waved one hand, a torrent of ice spikes impaling the lot of them without much effort, "Such a boring phrase uttered by every grunt I've killed."

Gurath finally managed to stand, reaching into his pocket for his trump card.

Luke slowly trudged towards the last two demons standing, "So is the Five of Blades going to dwindle further tonight or have you learned anything?"

"Learn this!" Gurath grabbed his small blow dart and shot Luke in the neck with it. As Luke reached up and ripped it out, his legs gave way, "Purified Roseblood is poisonous to mortals, witch or not! Your end is now dammit!"

Luke grabbed his throat as the energy constricted his throat and progressed into his vital organs. The pain dragged Luke to the ground as he screamed in agony and coughed up blood and saliva.

Gurath confidently strode towards Luke, raising his recovered chakrams, "This ends here, mortal. Venali was… a brother to me. You won't go unpunished!"

"That was not how Venali would have wanted to win," Erinea spoke finally, "Gurath, that was beyond dirty…"

"But it worked," Gurath replied angrily, "More than his death ever could have!"

Gurath was lifted by a sudden stab as Luke had regained his bearings, blood leaking from his mouth, "Such lack of respect, Gurath. Sadly for you, you're wrong."

Silas casually explained as Gurath kicked out at Luke in vain, trying to remove himself from the death grip, "Mortal he may be, the demonic energy is enough to keep him alive. Must be intense suffering on his part, though."

Gurath dropped his chakrams to the ground as every swing bounced helplessly off of Luke's shield, "Erinea, run! Leave!"

Luke twisted the blade to silence Gurath and threw his fading body aside, "Underhanded tactics are to be expected from a rogue in the end. The Scout's Chakrams will do nicely. Silas, be sure to collect them for me."

Erinea watched Silas pick up the weapons helplessly, knowing she couldn't beat a man stronger than Venali.

"Where did your fight go?" Luke asked out of curiosity, "Lost it? Good."

"You killed my friends," Erinea stomped her foot into the ground, "You killed my brother!"

Luke accepted her accusations, "Quite viciously and for that I apologize."

Erinea fell back against the wall of the building, glancing at the dead demons slaughtered around her, "This is what you did to all of our men, isn't it!?"

"The ones that refused to accept giving up on the job, anyways. Some did listen to reason," Luke recanted his previous exploits, "I just wish you two had."

"You're not… done…" Venali's voice caught everyone's attention immediately.

"Venali!?" Erinea shouted out in a strongly fused mixture of confusion and joy.

Venali grabbed the vial from his coat pocket and uncapped it, "While I have this… There's no end to our bout."

Erinea's surprise grew further still, "Venali, that's Roseblood, right!? The stuff that makes you lose your mind!? Why do you have that!?"

"If I don't use it, he'll win…" Venali croaked out, "He tried to spare me. Left me nearly dead, pleaded for me to give up. But why me?"

"Out of all the demons I have ever met, you, Raviel, and Erinea have displayed the least amount of evil intent," Luke pulled out a card from his pocket, "I felt bad about Alvomith and Goris so I tried to at least give you a shot."

Venali lifted the vial to his mouth, "Take it back… I'll only end this job with victory or death."

"Why are you throwing your life away for this!?" Erinea once again attempted reasoning with Venali, "Veketh wouldn't want us to die!"

"Erinea…" Venali felt his wounds hampering him. This would heal him, better him, give him a chance. However, he'd never get himself back. It was a one way ticket, "Veketh won't back down on killing the Cuentas family. If he goes down fighting and dying as I know he will, I have to do the same."

Erinea fell to her knees, "Venali… Your dedication to others is why you're a demon, you stupid… Why didn't you just let me die!? I just wanted it to end… Why do you always do things for yourself and leave me out to dry!?"

Venali gave her one last sad look, drinking the vial in one swig, "Because I'm a damn fool and a stubborn one at that…"

Luke glanced between the two, "Your boss's life and loyalty mean enough to you to throw away your last family? That's cold."

"I don't need your approval…" Venali growled out as he unsheathed his blade, "You'll die by my hand, and by Azuleir's blade!"

"Erinea, I'm sorry for this," Luke prepared himself mentally for the last fight of the night or so he hoped, "If he wants this duel, he'll have it!"

…

"What's the point of living now, Mark? We're monsters now," Erinea cried out as her now demonic brother Mark lifted her out of the tub, blood pooling as the razor blade clinked against the porcelain.

Mark sat her down on the floor, "Erin, you tried to die. Do you know how selfish that was!? What would I do without you!?"

Erin cried and pushed him away, "What does it matter to you!? It's what I want!"

"Really, that's how you feel!? I sacrificed my humanity for you!" Mark pushed her, "Why do you get to be the selfish one all the time!? You were mom's favorite… You get better treatment by everyone but I'm left out to dry!"

"Then why didn't you let me die!?"

Mark slammed his fist into the mirror and shattered it as his powers began to manifest, "Because you're the only family that's ever fucking loved me!"

…

Venali felt his mind begin to fade and uttered out a few last words, "Erinea… I may attack you after… Just run away, okay!? Have Veketh come and end it!"

"You should leave," Luke agreed, "No one should see their family lose their minds. Watching them waste away is worse than the end itself, really."

Despite their advice, Erinea remained, clueless as to how to feel or what she should do. In the end, she respected Venali enough to let his fight happen. He had already pulled the trigger himself anyway.

"You… Die!" Venali lunged forward and cut through Luke's robe, his arm sliced open like butter, "Die, die, die!"

Luke jumped back, creating distance between them, "Why couldn't you listen, Venali!? Why!?"

"This is not what I expected tonight," Silas mumbled in earshot of Erinea, "I haven't felt bad for you lot until now."

As the Roseblood amplified Venali's speed and strength, Venali was able to rush Luke again, driving his blade down at Luke's chest. Luke grabbed the blade and forcefully lowered it, impaling his body lower than his rib cage instead.

With a harsh punch, Luke pried Venali off of his blade and grabbed the hilt, pulling it out slowly. Luckily it had avoided any major organs, but it was enough to drop Luke to his knees.

Venali jumped up and clawed at Luke's exposed face, his cheeks razed by Venali's desperate fingers. Luke responded by turning the blade on the beast in front of him and impaling him in kind.

Venali howled and crumpled to the ground as Luke jammed the dagger into his head and made short work of what was left of the tragic man's life.

Luke felt Venali's power overcome him with emotions, the prime one being satisfaction. As Luke lifted Venali's blade back into its sheath, he nodded to himself, "Honor among Demons is a nice name for this."

Facing Erinea, Luke handed her the blade, "…Why?"

"Normally I keep them, but in this case, it is a memento of your brother," Luke pushed the weapon into her hands, "He'd want you to keep it, I think."

"I have enough painful memories of tonight," Erinea glared at him, "I'm half tempted to try and kill you."

Luke's eyes glowed, "So you can die again? I want you to live, dammit!"

Erinea felt Venali's words strike her heart and without another word broke down into tears as Luke caught her, the sword falling to the ground.

…

Luke arrived back home to find the place empty once more, his mom out and about again. Silas opened up the small fridge and grabbed a slice of long-cold pizza, "So you let her go in the end, eh?"

Placing the chakrams, the cards, and the sword on the kitchen table, Luke admired his haul and mulled over the night's events, "Half of the group is dead and Erinea isn't going to kill herself on us any time soon, I hope. Tazrun's my concern now."

"The Grimlock preying on kids on Halloween, how horrible…" Silas nodded to himself, "One last hunt for us before the month is over then."

"You don't have to keep helping me," Luke reminded him, "Just because Raviel's in me doesn't mean you have to pretend."

Silas tore into the pizza before answering with his mouth nearly full, "Shut up!" As he swallowed the last of it, he continued, "I'm doing this because you're my friend. Remember?"

Luke smiled and grabbed the empty box, "Then let's order in. I'm starved."

"Nice!" Silas practically squealed at the excitement of more food, "Get the wings, too!"

"I know," Raviel's voice came out, "I gotcha, man…"

Silas remembered something as Luke ordered, "Oh, right. I'm going to make you something to get that Roseblood out."

Luke winced, "Oh? It's bad to have it? I thought it was done affecting me."

"Better safe than dead," Silas answered him, "I can make a blade that draws out poisons but… Well, you gotta stab the heart."

"Wouldn't that kill me, mortal body and all?"

Silas sat back, "I can somewhat fix that. Just don't say I didn't warn you that it'll take getting used to."

As Silas waved his hands, Luke saw a familiar face, "Oh, you're Geiney's ex, huh?"

…

Veketh didn't say a word when Erinea returned in tears, summoning Tazrun and Barath to the foyer for another group discussion. When Erinea finally finished her story, Veketh seated himself and held a hand to his head in thought.

Barath was the most disinterested monster in the world, "Boohoo. Those losers got killed. Big surprise. Veketh knew this would happen, yeah?"

"It was a possibility," Veketh admitted, "I was hoping that… that this wouldn't have happened. Erinea… I'm just quite thankful that you're alive."

"The Roseblood Gang was right," Barath mocked his own boss with abrasive callousness, "You're weak. Your wife and sister died because of that half-assed nature you have."

Veketh's hand reached for Barath's throat instinctively, "Tempt me again, Barath. You only got to live because Goris pulled your weight."

Barath grinned, "They'll hunt you and your boy down if you kill me… You know that."

"As if they'd bat an eye at your death," Veketh tossed Barath against the wall, "Out of my sight."

"You… never learn, eh?" Barath shimmered out and left the loyal three alone.

Tazrun felt his concern growing, "I warned you, dad. We should just attack the Rosebloods now."

Veketh seriously considered that idea, "A civil war would be the end of us, Tazrun."

"But if we don't do it now, they'll outnumber us!" Erinea warned him, "That man Luke has killed nearly all of our men by now. We'll have nothing left for anything."

"You're being retired," Veketh's words broke what little will she had left, "That man knows what you look like and since you never bother to use your powers, you're done for."

Erinea's eyes widened, "You're kicking me off the job?"

Veketh maintained his stalwart demeanor, "You'll blow Tazrun's cover unless you transform. You've refused to do so until now, correct?"

"I… I'll do it," Veketh raised an eyebrow, "I want revenge on the bastard that killed my brother."

Veketh and Tazrun exchanged glances for a moment, "Then you can talk to Tazrun tomorrow morning about the plan. If you really want your revenge, keep your cool like you did tonight. Okay?"

Erinea nodded enthusiastically, "Y-yes!"

As the girl shimmered out, Veketh returned to his chair, "It's just as I expected, Tazrun. The Roseblood Gang of eight dropped down to three and the loose ends. We were destined to be reunited here, don't you think?"

"The Cuentas family wiped your whole gang out and left you and me," Tazrun left out the being killed as collateral and being changed into a demon part, "You expect to take down the Roseblood gang once and for all?"

"Who would have entertained the thought that a ragtag group of outlaws stumbling on demonic powers would last this long? I remember the four I hunted down before all this. I chose eight to match them," Veketh thought about those moments, the hunt unparalleled in satisfaction as he avenged his broken family after that incident back in '55.

Tazrun never really got what drove his father, especially now with his entire team dying off at unacceptable speeds. If this is what obsession looked like, Tazrun hoped this would be the end. Whether they won or not would be the last thing on his mind.

…

Halloween came quick and one of the most excited people in town for it was Evan, dressed up as a mime, pulling his mom's pants, "Mom… Let's go!"

"Alright, Evan. I'm glad my boss let me off so we can make the most of tonight," She checked her pockets, "Oh, I forgot my keys. One second honey. Stay right here, okay?"

Ms. Nicholson hurried back into her home as Evan listlessly waited on the sidewalk next to her car. He noticed a tall man standing near a tree on the other side of the road with white skin and creepy red eyes, "You look cool, mister!"

"I like your costume as well, little one," Tazrun spoke in a jovial, welcoming tone, "May I come see it up close?"

"Mom says I can't talk to strangers," Evan replied, now a little wary.

Tazrun nodded, "Your mom must really love you. I'm Tazrun. I may look strange but I won't hurt a fly."

Evan easily let his curiosity overtake his lessons, "Okay… Promise?"

Tazrun smiled at such a wondrous opportunity and slowly began crossing the street with methodical and menacing footsteps, "I promise."

Evan's attention was caught by his mother stepping outside, "Mom, look!"

She stared at the empty road and gave her son a puzzled look, "At what, dear?"

"At the guy in the costume!" Evan turned back and felt his mind explode when he saw the street was barren, "Where'd ya go, mister?"

"Evan, it's alright. Let's just get ready to go, okay? Where's your friend live?" She had been given some money by a couple of other kids in Evan's class to take all of the kids out so the other parents could make a nice date night for themselves. She gladly accepted; not just for the money but because of how excited Evan got. Seeing her smiling child try his hand at makeshift mime language, moving his hands spastically in the air before him, she smiled and messed with his hair, ruffling it as she opened the door for him.

As the two drove away and Evan glanced out of the back window, he saw the same man standing in the street. Watching. Just watching them go.

…

Chief Robert sat silently in his office glancing over the recent spree of homicide cases opened on his desk. Sixty-four killings in Old Valentine and Valentine combined, the bodies found mutilated beyond repair with extra damage to the chest cavities, each a gruesome sight resembling a vicious animal attack. The idea of a paranormal team suddenly seemed more culpable than ever.

The door opened as Ailyn stepped inside with a concerned expression, "Robert? You called for me specifically."

"Yeah, I need some help. I've decided to try and put together a… Well, a team to handle monsters," Robert tried to hide his embarrassment at such a childish idea, "I've got a violently high rate of mysterious animal maulings in the area. The Feds are on my ass now and it's beyond time we did something to protect these people."

"What? Animal attacks?" Ailyn was handed one of the many folders scattered on the table and looked at the first picture, dropping it instantly and stepping back trying to hold back her lunch, "Oh god!"

Robert grimly nodded and placed the folder back on the table as he returned to his seat, "In your expert opinion, what are we in for?"

Ailyn thought to herself, "My guess would be a werewolf with this kind of brutality. I can't think of much else."

"Are there any in the area? Do you know anyone I could… hire for this operation?" Robert knew it was a risky plan, one that could get him fired or more.

"There's a teenager I know that might be a good start," Ailyn finally relented, "Said he wants to protect the town. He's got some powers within him, but you'd have to speak with him. Luke Richardson."

Robert thought back, "That so? How do you know him?"

Ailyn decided to be honest with him, "He's a friend of Geiney's. For now, we tentatively trust him."

"If you think it would be a good start, I'll try it," Robert would have to worry later, "We'll call him in."

Ailyn excused herself and left his office, worried beyond belief. A werewolf had gotten loose in town? Was it a murderous beast or just a first-time transformer? Sara and Luz would have to know immediately.

…

The night of Halloween began in earnest as Geiney excitedly leaped from the car and sprinted to the Halloween Festival the high school was putting on. He was donning a full military outfit, an American soldier on the beaches at D-day, his helmet pre-dented and fake mud covering his sleeves on his pants and arms.

Sara and Luz turned to each other as he left, "He's definitely having fun tonight."

"We've got a monster to hunt," Sara reminded her, "A vicious one, too. People we know could have been made targets. Now's not a time to play."

Luz started up the car and proceeded to the location the murders had last occurred at, "Ailyn's got our back and we have Geiney on call. If worse comes to worse, we can get Luke, too."

Sara opened her mouth to refuse any help he could offer but instead quieted herself. She'd save that discussion for later.

Geiney ignored most of the other attendees, including Garrett dressed up in Supreme merch to try and impress losers, searching for his friends.

"Spooky!" Geiney screamed in terror as a familiar voice rang out behind him.

Luke laughed as Geiney faced him. His blood ran cold when he saw Luke covered in bloody scars and a torn red robe, his eyes a startlingly deep green as he cackled in a foreign voice, "Luke? That costume…"

Luke giggled at Geiney's horrified expression as his mouth stretched, his cheeks cut, eyelids removed and everything, "Go to sleep, Geiney…" Waving a hand over his face, it returned to normal, a sinister grin as he reveled in his newest power, "I managed to get a shape shifter's powers. Now I can be any monster I please… Ehehehehehehe…" A spine-tingling laugh rang out as his face took on a plastic look and his nose disappeared.

As Shera started heading over in a pirate outfit, her red top and black skirt standing out with well-made fabric and her eye patch effectively stealing away any depth perception she had, Luke fixed his face, "There you guys are. Have you seen the others yet?"

Lea snickered, "Here." Geiney's heart stopped when Lea stalked up behind him, dressed up as a black cat, his tail curling around his face, "Hey, pretty boy." His furry pants and shirt felt warm and snug, tempting Geiney to sleep.

Knowing the tail was real and just dyed made Luke giggle at Geiney's innocent reaction, "Where is that thing even attached!?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lea winked at his prey of the night with overwhelming confidence.

Charlie rushed over from where Shera had been with two caramel apples in hand. Charlie was wearing black fingerless gloves, a white shirt, a brown button up coat with a fur hood, black pants with a brown belt looped around either leg, and two horns attached to either side of his head, "You probably won't get my costume just by looking, huh?"

Lea silently agreed and Charlie opened his mouth to explain.

"His costume is looking good," Shera teased him as she bit into her apple without fear, the apple juices dripping down her chin, "Oh, whoops…"

Luke folded his arms, "Hey, where's Sherry?"

Lea frowned as his tail sagged, "Well, she's sick at home. Sorry about that." _Never found anything in that dumb book_ , Lea thought.

"That's no fun…" Luke's mind went blank. All thought was gone forever, lost to the void that was being a teenager.

Ruby had arrived in her outfit, something that in most cases wouldn't have been surprising, especially considering her natural beauty. Seeing her dressed up as a normal vampire with an oversized robe and tight black shirt, her red skirt and black stockings giving her a seductive, enchanting mystique quickly took them aback.

Shera stood next to Ruby and pulled her close, "I told you, Ruby. You're a sexy bloodsucker, eh?"

Her wink did nothing to hide Ruby's clear insecurity in wearing that outfit, "You and my parents are both sadists."

"Well, let's ask. Luke, Charlie, Lea, Geiney? Which of our outfits do you prefer, hm?" Shera was being evil again and the guys all knew it.

Lea shrugged, "Sherry had a cute costume planned too, ya know. I helped make it." Lea swelled with pride at his announcement.

Shera accepted that response with little fanfare, "You three?"

Geiney hated this question because he was essentially choosing between both of his friends' crushes, "Uh…"

Blushing, Charlie decided to give in and leave the situation altogether, "I came with you, didn't I?" He looked away, his face burning red.

"Geiney, what about you?" Luke tried to distract them with the odd one out as he slowly stepped back, hoping to morph into the crowd.

Charlie gripped Luke's robe, not letting him flee, "Stay."

Luke whispered angrier than he had been for a long time, "You let me go or that hand comes off, motherfucker."

"How did you put it?" Charlie whispered in turn, "Nothing would remain untouched when you were through? A full working over, huh?"

"I sent you porn at work one time, let it go!" Luke pleaded with him.

Charlie evilly smiled, "I whispered, didn't I?"

"Well, it's…" Geiney was shaking in his boots now, "I have to hand it to Ruby here."

"That so?" Alice's cooing voice stole Geiney's breath as he felt her glaring at him from behind. Alice was dressed as Alice in Wonderland but zombified, her face covered in blood and scars, her clothes slightly torn here and there as her black eye shadowing gave her the look of perpetual exhaustion, black contacts making her eyes all one color to terrify.

"Not a bad choice," Charlie whispered.

Luke nudged Charlie, "You chose vampire too, huh? That's why you never said it outright?"

Shera heard this and gripped Charlie's shoulder, "Is this true, Charlie?"

"Dasvidaniya, comrade," Luke saluted Charlie off and escaped his grip, heading off into the crowd.

Ruby was faster despite her new ensemble, though, and she immediately ended Luke's escape, "You're not leaving without an answer, punk."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "So you care about what I prefer, huh? Interesting…"

"These idiots made me dress up for this," Ruby pouted with an angry glare, "It had better look good enough to waste this much time."

"I don't think it's wasted time," Luke struggled to speak his mind, "You look… great. I just don't want to stare."

Ruby smiled a little but dropped it when Luke looked her way, "Well, fine then. Glad you're amused by this."

A familiar scent caught Luke's nose and dragged his attention away, "Ruby… I have to meet someone else here. I'll be back, okay?"

"Uh, Luke?"

"Tell the others for me," Luke rushed off, knowing who had arrived. Was Veketh plotting to attack the dance? Was this a solo mission?

Geiney watched Luke sprint off, "Where's he going?"

"Avoiding his fate," Charlie cracked his knuckles, "I'll get him."

Alice and Lea were still glaring at each other, shut out to the others completely.

…

Kurt returned home to find a total mess. Sherry's door to her room had been cleaved in half. As the groceries fell from Kurt's hands, a small box he had purchased for her hit the floor of his home, bouncing off of the wood as he felt true horror take over him, "Lynn! Lynn, she's broke out! Lynn!"

Lynn quickly caught up to her husband, "Kurt, what are you yelling… for…" Lynn trailed off as she saw the remains of the door, "Where's did she go!? Wait, the dance! We have to hurry!"

"Can't let them get hurt," Kurt followed after her.

"There's a witch in her class, Kurt. If they mistake her as a wild werewolf, they might try to kill her!" Lynn panicked as she ripped the keys from Kurt's outstretched hand and practically ripped the door of their car off and slid into the driver's side.

Kurt wasted no time crossing the hood of his 2002 Chevy Corolla and fitting himself in the passenger seat as his wife backed out and began speeding down the highway.


	18. The Night Of Samhain

**Chapter Eighteen: The Night of Samhain**

Luz and Sara found Chief Robert leaning up against a brick building, enjoying the peace and quiet as the duo exited their car and finally got his attention.

"Sorry to call you guys out this evening. I'm only doing it because this is getting far beyond my pay grade," Robert was not a sheepish man but he sounded humble to the sisters.

Sara observed their surroundings and noted nothing out of the ordinary, "A series of killings this high is definitely of a magical origin. I'm glad you called us for this."

Chief Robert placed his hat back on his head, "I'm planning a new branch to help you cover incidents like this. Can't run you guys ragged when I could be doing more on my end."

"That might be a good idea," Luz's tone was lacking in spirit, "Maybe the ones we love won't be in danger that way…"

"As long as you keep a careful eye on who you recruit," Sara grumbled, "I don't want to deal with your men running wild."

"Of course we'll do checks," Robert replied with an offended tone, "We're not like your business, hiring that whiny woman calling us over the most inane things."

Sara covered her face in her hands and yelled something about Eva.

…

Luke stalked over to the familiar girl in a gray robe, "Erinea. What are you doing here?"

"Veketh's orders," Erinea grinned up at Luke, "Safe to say I'm disobeying him right now."

"What are you on about?" Luke folded his arms, "You're not just here to throw your life away, right?"

Erinea shook her head, "Of course not. Tazrun's here, preying on some kid and trying to lure you and Geiney out."

Luke grumbled to himself, "Where exactly is he?"

"He's currently planning to attack the boy's mother in the old accountant's office half a mile from here. I'd hurry if I were you." Erinea stood up and began walking in that direction. "Well, you coming or what?"

"Can I just ask why you're ruining his plan? Is this a trap?" Luke doubted its effectiveness regardless of whether it was or wasn't.

Erinea continued leading Luke on out of the party without any words.

…

Tazrun grinned sinisterly as he followed the woman into the old building. Evan was easy enough to trick inside and now his mother was searching for him in the darkened rooms that lined the inside of the decrepit office space.

Once the woman spotted her child, she felt her anxiety fade away, "Evan, where have you been wandering to?"

As she started to catch up to him, Tazrun slid in between the rows that separated them, "The name's Tazrun and I'm going to have to handle this quickly."

Horrified, Ms. Nicholson fell backward onto her backside as her eyes lit up in horror. What was the thing coming upon her?

Tazrun knew it was already over for the woman. With her son guiding his sight, Tazrun cornered her in the back room of the old office, a frown plastered on his face, "I'm so sorry for this. I'm not a fan of killing people, but…"

"What are you!?" The woman screamed and threw an old coffeemaker at him, rounding the corner of the offices and screaming for her son.

As she located Evan and ran to him, Tazrun jumped in between the two of them. As Tazrun raised his hand to grip her, a fist pummeled him through the office desk nearby.

The person in the red robe standing where he once stood commanded her, "Grab him and go!"

Ms. Nicholson, still clearly confused, nodded and grabbed her child's hand as he asked where she was. As the two exited the building, Erinea walked up to Tazrun, his sight not helping him at all, "Hey."

"Erinea… What the hell happened!? What did you do!?" Tazrun demanded answers as he struggled to get upright.

Erinea lifelessly pointed at Tazrun, "You can kill him now. Veketh won't stay hidden for long."

Luke lowered his hood and pulled out his blade, "Still don't get why you're asking me to do this."

"Does it matter? I'm dead anyway."

Luke lifted Tazrun from the ground and aimed the blade at his chest, "Preying on kids is beyond grotesque, Tazrun."

Tazrun kicked out at Luke, hitting him in the chest. As Luke loosened his grasp, Tazrun planted magical knuckles into him, sending him flying with a single punch, "Not dying to you, bastard!"

"That's what the others said, boy," Goris's voice returned, "All fall to the blade eventually."

"You're absorbing us…?" Tazrun's eyes widened, "That… No, no way!" Tazrun revealed his primary weapon of choice, a magical Mauser pistol, "Away with you!"

As he fired, several glowing yellow bullets flew at Luke. Luke raised a palm and created a shield of pink and blue, the bullets getting caught in a web-like substance. Overwriting the energy of the bullets, Luke flicked them back. One hit the gun and knocked it from Tazrun's hands and the other blasted through his leg.

The gun bounced to the floor and fired off again, a single bullet flying by Erinea's cheek as she watched in silence, "I'm sorry, Tazrun."

"You're betraying us!" Tazrun rose to his feet, still wobbling, "Why, Erinea!? Aren't we close!?"

"Venali's death can't go unpunished," Erinea's words struck a chord with Tazrun and he recoiled in horror at how emotionless she was to his suffering.

Luke blasted Tazrun with fire to knock him off balance and struck in his moment of weakness. Tazrun let out a yelp as the blade pierced his chest with ease, "Quiet yourself."

Tazrun bit at Luke's hand to avoid being silenced, "You… Barath will take everything now, you bastard!"

"I can kill him in time. Why would I let you harm innocents?" Luke's voice was devoid of emotion; he too had lost any reason to treat Tazrun humanely.

"So killing me like a dog is… okay?"

"Dogs don't prey on kids for power. You're a parasite and that kid is about to be healed." Luke harshly answered him as he gripped Tazrun's neck and twisted it. Tazrun's lifeless body faded away as power flew into Luke.

Erinea watched the entire thing silently, "Let's go outside. Veketh will turn up soon."

Luke eyed the girl up, "Shape shifter who doesn't transform and Venali's little sister. You've had it rough as his apprentice, pretending to have no relation beyond having met as humans and teaming up."

"We're wasting time," Erinea cut him off and exited the building. Luke decided to follow, hoping to get more answers to her plan that way.

…

Lea sniffed the air and felt his blood run cold. Watching the others enjoying their festivities, Lea slipped out of the crowd and headed for one of the entrances. At the sight of his transformed sister growling and snarling, he cursed himself, "Sherry!?"

With nothing to do in the crowd, Lea turned and sprinted for his friends. He could transform and try to hold her off but maybe the others had a better plan. If he transformed in front of the crowd, that would only cause more problems than solve. He doubted she would attack anyone but this was still an emergency. Lea sprinted further and faster than he ever had, hoping Sherry might be impressed by the feat once she had regained herself.

…

Ailyn orbed in next to Sara and Luz, "I need you guys right now! A Grimlock was spotted at the dance!"

"What!?" Luz exclaimed, "Are the kids okay?"

"I found a mother crying about being attacked and cleared her memories," Ailyn recounted to the three, "A Grimlock attacked her but someone intervened. As if that wasn't bad enough, a werewolf arrived right after!"

Sara strode up to Ailyn and put Luz's hand on her, "Take us now. We'll see you after, Robert. Stay safe."

Robert watched in pure amazement as the three women disappeared from his sight, his keys dropping to the ground as his mouth remained practically unhinged.

…

Just as Erinea predicted, the two of them waited by the outskirts of the building as Veketh shimmered in and threw his robe off, "Erinea!"

"What is it, boss?" Erinea's tone was biting.

"You were to transform and lure them one by one once he powered up, damn it!" Veketh was fuming at her, "How could you screw that up so badly!?"

Erinea's lifeless eyes returned, "I did it on purpose, dumbass."

Veketh's anger rose, "Weren't you going to avenge your brother!?" He motioned to Luke as he lowered his robe.

"I am. That's why I killed your piece of shit son," Erinea spat in his direction, "I wanted revenge on you, trash."

"You…"

Erinea stepped forward and pulled her weapon out, a bladed whip, "You said it yourself. You knew we would likely die. You sent that chivalrous idiot to his death… Bastard!"

Veketh stepped back and regained himself, "It was a necessary risk. You betrayed me and him. You stamped out what little he had left by staining his honor."

"Honor!? He left me alone to live in a world with nothing to live for! You dragged your son into a god damn gang war and got him killed in the first place! Don't you dare call yourself a father and blame me! Your selfishness killed him, not mine!" Erinea lost it and transformed, her body matching Venali's, "You want to take down an innocent family for a fight you started and you killed me for it!"

Veketh felt his blood run cold at the spectacle that was Erinea's rage.

Erinea gripped her whip and crushed part of the wall behind him with one swing. She then took on Tazrun's form, "You took my childhood from me. You never let us live in peace. You pursued justice over family. How can you act like you loved me even after all that!?"

"She's not wrong, dad," Luke allowed Tazrun to use his body, not knowing exactly why, "I just wanted a father. Instead, you dragged us on this mission of yours for decades. How many kids did I blind? How many innocent souls did I steal? Was your vengeance worth all that?"

Veketh waved his hand and Erinea lost her footing. With one elbow, Veketh sent her tumbling into the wall, "It was always worth it for your mother… I have to avenge her!"

Erinea cried out once more, "Why'd you take my family to do it!? He was all I had! You practically raised us and you made him that way!"

"If he accepted my teachings it's on him!" Veketh coldly replied.

"He deserved it then!? For believing in you!?"

Veketh hesitated, "Yeah… Following me was a fool's errand. In the end, we'll all end up the same."

Luke had heard enough. Gripping Veketh by the throat and lifting him, Luke sighed, "Your men died because of you twice now. The Roseblood Gang can't be stopped by a loser like you."

"Then help me. You kill the wicked, right?" Veketh pleaded, "They certainly are, I assure you…"

"You sent men to kill me. You sent men to die," Luke punched him in the chest, causing him to cough up blood, "You targeted a kid and forced your own son to do it. If you think you're in any place to judge evil…" Luke punched him once more in the mouth, teeth shattering from the impact as he bounced back into the wall and painted it in his shameful blood, "You're not even worth killing."

Veketh fell to his knees, "I just… I just have to… You'll never…"

Erinea turned to Luke and put a hand on his shoulder, "You can kill us now… I wanted to see that man break and… Well, that's all I wanted to live for."

"You wish," Luke placed a hand on Erinea's shoulder, "You want to die? Well, I won't give you that. I'll give you a chance to live instead."

"Where would I even go…?" Erinea sounded broken; her vengeance sated; she was a moth without a light.

Luke rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead, "With me, of course. I could use an apprentice myself. Someone to take up the torch I'd leave behind. My friends, they're good people, if not flawed. I understand I might die protecting them…"

Erinea whispered in a dour tone, "Would they even accept a monster like me?"

"They accepted me," Luke's response shook her as he held out his hand, "In the end, we're all monsters. There's beauty to be found even in the broken."

Erinea felt time stop as she battled her own inner demons. Venali died for her to live, and she died to stop living. She felt no attachments to the world anymore but someone had offered her at least a chance. _Should I take it?_ "I…"

…

Veketh shimmered away from the scene to a nearby park, coughing and trying to grip the bench in front of him to keep from falling over. _Erinea betrayed me? Was I in the wrong this long? No. Can't turn back now._ Veketh reached into his pocket and removed from it a white dagger with a rose insignia in it, "Four left…"

…

Geiney enjoyed a drink with Alice, smiling as he spoke, "I wanted to do this after our research. Hearing how bravely they fought, I hoped wearing this would give me courage."

"That's a sweet reason to choose a costume," Shera was seated next to Charlie at a picnic table while he gorged on overpriced pizza from a cart. "Charlie liked pirates so I wanted to get brownie points. Apparently bloodsuckers are better."

Charlie looked up and swallowed loudly, "Hey, I didn't say I didn't love it. Ruby's outfit is just nicely put together."

Shera poked Charlie in the nose, "Uhuh, that's what they all say."

Lea rushed over with a panicked yelp, "We have a massive problem! It's not me this time!"

"What are you yelling about?" Ruby quickly rose to her feet, not one to joke around when Lea was rushing through people and nearly pushing some to the ground.

"It's coming!" He shouted in fear, "She's coming!"

Geiney put his foot on the table to see above the crowd. He nearly destroyed his pants when he saw a hulking seven-foot werewolf scattering people left and right as it sped towards them on its four legs, slobbering and howling intermittently on its tirade in their direction.

"The hell is that!?" Geiney squeaked out in horror.

"Sherry!" Ruby's eyes widened, "Lea, what's she doing!?"

Lea collapsed at their feet, "She can't… control her… first time transforming!"

"Well, what do we do!?" Shera exclaimed, jumping up as Sherry neared the table.

Charlie posited the most forthright solution, "Run!"

"But what if she hurts someone?! Ruby!" Shera called to her friend in desperation.

Ruby jumped in front of some of the onlookers, "Get out of here, go!"

"Let's go!" Charlie and Lea both joined in on herding people out of the area, the people shrieking and stampeding out of the area, stands getting bumped into and crushed by the flood of people flying off the handle and scattering in several directions.

Luke spotted the werewolf rushing towards the crowd and deciding this might as well happen tonight as if it hadn't already been weird as hell and dropped in between it and the crowd, "Woah there… Take it easy, wolf."

The wolf dug in its claws to avoid flying into Luke and tilted its head at his presence. The wolf stood up to its full height and lowered its heavy hand towards Luke's head.

"You recognize me…?" Luke asked, pointing to himself in confusion.

As the wolf began sniffing at him, a yell caught their attention, "There it is! Luz!"

Luz and Sara had been orbed in by Ailyn and targeted the wolf in their sights. The werewolf turned and sprinted away through the overturned stalls and out into the night.

"Geiney, what happened!?" Luz sprinted to his side and pulled him close, "Are you guys okay!?"

Geiney, still startled by the suddenness of the incident, opened and closed his eyes several times, "I'm not actually sure."

Sara tracked the werewolf's location, "That beast is trying to get away. Not from us it won't."

Luz left Geiney sitting at the table, "Stay here, okay?"

As the two sisters headed off after the beast, Luke begged the question, "So what was that?"

"Sherry's transformed!" Lea shouted, joining Luke's side, "You've gotta stop them! Guys!"

"I can track them. Geiney, come here," Geiney reluctantly joined Luke's side, still confused by what was happening, "We'll be back with good news, I hope." Luke shimmered away with Geiney.

Shera's eyes widened, "He… Is he a demon!?"

"It's a long story," Charlie admitted softly, "I didn't want to say it because… Well, I was afraid of how you'd feel about him."

"He sort of gave me some details," Ruby tacked on, "Give her and Lea the story. I told him about us already."

Lea began his own transformation, his body lengthening as claws sprouted from his hands and his back spread out. Fur exploded across his body as his eyes changed to the yellow and black familiar to many cats as his teeth sharpened and his tail grew in size. Hunched over to his four feet, Lea sprinted off, tracking Sherry by scent and desperately speeding off.

…

Silas was in near complete darkness, the room only illuminated by the faint glow of the television before him. Erinea was nearby on the reclining chair, her head buried in her knees.

"We still have take-out if you want it; wings, too." Silas offered her to no avail as she didn't utter a response. "I'm sorry. For everything you've been through, I'm sorry."

Erinea gradually lifted her head up, "We never stood a chance against him, did we?"

Silas leaned back in his own recliner, "Honestly? It's hard to say. The kid's cocky, overstepping his boundaries constantly. I can't tell whether to be concerned or impressed."

"Do you know why he's like this?"

"Well… He doesn't have much in the way of family. His friends are," Silas smiled as he thought of the many evenings he'd have been alone the past weeks had Luke not invited him out, "Is that weird to you?"

Erinea glanced down at her bare feet and kicked the air, "I… don't know. Veketh kind of treated us like a family, but… But he never really felt anything for us."

Silas grappled with the words on his mind, "I think it's hard to be the leader."

"You think?"

"He had to balance his care for you and his mission. Losing Tazrun hurt him. Watching you lose faith in him seemed to hurt him the most," Silas offered his opinions, "In the end, maybe you were his second family."

Erinea paused to consider that sentiment, "Veketh and Luke don't sound that different when you phrase it that way."

Silas joked, "If I said yes, would you still trust him?"

"…Why'd he want me to live, Silas? What makes me so special?"

"Well, if I had to hazard a simple answer. He thinks you're cute." Erinea gave Silas a vicious glare but Silas waved it off, "I think because he feels like he gets what you're feeling. His dad's dying in a hospital and his mom's off doing whatever she wants. He only got into the powers he has because he was so desperate to steal from a friend for attention. That loneliness cuts deep."

Erinea mulled that over as she cracked her knuckles, "I take it you know that loneliness as well, right?"

Silas placed a delicate finger on his smiley sticker that he had pressed into his chest earlier, "Monsters like us live in it."

"But we can be more than monsters," Erinea mumbled, "That's what Venali wanted me to understand."

"Then you should tell him. He's not wholly gone," Silas pointed out the obvious to her.

Erinea sat in the darkness, curling up as she felt tears run down her face. "Mark…"

…

Sara and Luz had tracked the werewolf down into an old roadway to Old Valentine on the outskirts of the city limits. The werewolf which had been fleeing for the most part was now boxed in between the girls.

"Nowhere to run now, monster!" Sara exclaimed as she stepped forward and charged herself up, "You'll pay for every innocent life taken!"

The werewolf, clearly confused by what she meant, tilted its head and gingerly extended a paw to the woman. Sara grabbed the arm and flipped the beast onto its back with reckless abandon.

Luz had noticed by now how odd the situation was, "Sara, if it killed that many… Why isn't it fighting back?"

"It knows better!" Sara delivered a hard punch to its face, the beast collapsing to its knees as it gripped its eye.

As Sara readied another punch, Lea dropped onto the girl and kicked her away. Sara flew back as Lea checked his poor sister for injuries and growled at Sara.

"A werecat too!?" Sara rallied herself to the fight, "I'll take the two for one deal then!"

Luke and Geiney appeared between the two of them, "Hold up!"

Sara punched Luke square in the jaw and he dropped, "Oh. Sorry. You surprised me."

"Bullshit I did," Luke rubbed his cheek and regained his footing, "That was premeditated like a motherfucker."

"Guys, it's alright. That werewolf is a classmate of ours!" Geiney began his explanation in earnest, "Tonight's her first transformation, okay? She's not gonna hurt us!"

Sara dismissively raised her voice, "Chief Robert asked us to investigate a slew of brutal killings, Geiney. Could have been a werewolf easily."

Luke argued back, "But one that shows up to a dance that it couldn't have known Geiney would have been at and not murdering everyone in sight? You have a brain, right?"

"Maybe it's not the one we're looking for but werewolves are dangerous, especially if they threaten to expose us," Sara's irrationality grew more seething in every word, "I should take care of it regardless."

Lea dropped his transformation and stomped towards her, "Get away from my sister, you callous bitch!"

"Lea!?" Geiney finally put two and two together, "You're a werecat!?"

Sara gave Geiney a cutthroat glare, "I can't believe this. Can't you make some not monster friends!? Did you learn nothing from everything I've ever said!?"

"Controlling his friend group is kind of wrong," Luke pointed out to her, "They're not miscreants. They didn't choose to be monsters."

"You did," Sara bit back.

Luke's eyes shone red, "Yeah, and I just wiped out an entire mercenary gang working for the Demon Fists while you fuck about with a god damn banquet! I love how you and your friends get to live out your lives and you can't go one day without interfering in Geiney's!"

Sara gripped Luke by the collar, "He's family! I'm looking out for him!"

"You know what? Geiney mentioned a friend of yours slept with a mechanic and had a health issue right?"

Sara bopped Geiney on the head, "Stop telling him things!"

Luke interrupted her, "No, it's actually pretty funny. The demon that attacked me killed him. That mechanic was an HIV positive bastard who purposefully infected others because his health insurance wouldn't cover anything and he was dying. He wanted to make others suffer for his mistakes. Isn't it funny Yuriel did more for your friend than you ever have?"

"Shut up!" Sara punched Luke to the ground in a fit of rage.

"Here is the mighty matriarch of the Cuentas family, punching teenagers in the face over facts," Luke's vitriol only increased in intensity, "Family? You wouldn't even let Geiney see his parents. Glad they don't count."

Sara kicked Luke square in the face for that one, "I said quiet your damn mouth!"

Luke adjusted his jaw before rising to his feet before her, "No, this is the line I draw. The fact you housed the thought of killing an innocent girl!" Sherry cowered in fear from the woman threatening her very existence, "You're just a demon with witch powers. Maybe I chose to defend myself and keep it, but you know what!? It's sad that I don't get a family and I'm just a kid and you get one and you don't even fucking love them!"

"I love them more than you could possibly know!" Sara's anger was rising further still, "I have responsibilities you couldn't dream of! I have to keep them alive! It's on me and it always has been!"

"That's why Geiney's always cringing whenever you yell. It's not a sign of your abuse, that's love, right!?"

Sara stopped for a moment and faced Geiney, "You don't feel that way, do you?"

Luke nudged Lea, "Get her out of here. This is my issue now."

Lea nodded and grabbed his sister, transforming into a werewolf of his own accord and carrying her off. Sara moved to follow but Luke punched her square in the jaw.

"Luz, help me already!" Sara yelled out for her sister's aid.

Luz shook her head, "I… I can't, Sara."

Sara practically exploded, "Well you just can't do anything I need you to! If you just listened to me this brat wouldn't be talking down to me!"

"I always would. And I bet you'd still hit me. Not using your powers for selfish reasons? Bullshit," Luke wouldn't let up this time, "Raviel is inside me even now cringing at you. Not even Mike scared him as badly."

"What do I care about his feelings!?"

"Why don't you just put anyone's feelings in that sentence, then? That's all you amount to."

"Didn't your elders ever teach you to respect others!?"

"My dad is dying from an illness that magic could easily cure and you're standing around ranting about demons as if they're the only scourge on humanity."

"What is that supposed to mean!?"

"For all the bad demons do, witches are just observers. All this terrible shit goes on around and you can't be assed to help. I'm glad to know the most powerful beings for good in the universe sit on their fucking hands. What are you, God?"

Sara grinded her teeth so hard Geiney worried she'd break them off entirely, "I should just end you myself. You disrespect me and… and everything I've ever trained for!"

Luke found no pity in his heart, "You disrespect my life and the lives of all I've saved while you focus on your trivial career."

"It's not trivial! It's my life's work!" Sara pushed Luke away, finding it hard to attack him with Geiney and Luz's disapproval clear on their faces.

Shaking his head, Luke turned his back on her, "The career you put before family and innocents. Not using magic for your own gain can be wrong, but not using it to help when you could? You disgust me."

Luz decided to try and help her beleaguered sister, "We can't just… magic away the world's problems. You should know that."

"Why don't I put that to the test then?" Luke's reply was quick, "I know just the person to start with. I was reluctant to use my powers like this, but if it's to prove it can be done, I'll do anything."

"You can't play around with the powers you have!" Sara warned him rather intensely, "The consequences could be terrible!"

Luke chuckled, "Oh, now you care about me? Save your fake concern for your family. I've enough of that to spare." The young man shimmered away from them without a goodbye.

"What is wrong with you…?" Geiney asked his sister with a terribly defeated tone, "You're trying to kill my friends now!?"

Sara held steadfast, "Friends? You consider monsters and demons friends!?"

Geiney returned fire, "When they treat me better than you have, yeah!"

"…What?"

"You think an apology is enough to make up for the years my parents wanted to see us!? Your grudge ruined so much time we could have had! Don't you feel any regret!?" Geiney's unspoken words fell forth from his lips.

Sara rooted herself to the ground, "They could have taken us back into that hell of theirs!"

Geiney stared in awe, "You think that lowly of your own parents? Maybe you're the one who doesn't learn, huh!? You don't get to act like a… like a bitch and get on Luz for not siding with you!"

"You what!?" Sara's mind spun. Geiney had never cursed at her before.

"You couldn't see the fear in her eyes when you threatened her life? You complain about how witches get chased and hunted for their blood but it's totally okay if it's a werewolf!? You didn't even want to talk to them!" Geiney shouted down his own sister in a moment of rebellion long overdue.

Ailyn orbed in after wiping the memories of the festival goers as best she could considering the difficulty of keeping watch, "What is going on?"

Geiney stepped back from Sara, "Go ahead and tell her what you did!"

"I didn't do anything but try to keep us safe, Geiney!"

"There's that word again, safe! You're a broken record. How many times did your parents tell you the training would keep you safe? But did you listen? No! Because it was wrong! Can't you understand that!?" Geiney's eyes welled up with tears. Was the sister he'd always looked up to really turning out this way?

Ailyn found her place between the two, "Just calm down and tell me. We'll work this out like we always do."

Geiney decided instead to walk away, "She doesn't learn anything. I'm going home; after I check on my friends."

That last remark cut Sara deeply as Geiney stalked off into the night more uncertain about his own future than he ever had been.

…

Luke tracked Lea and Sherry down and shimmered in right in front of them. Lea managed to gather his bearings quickly enough and stopped himself, setting his sister down and reverting to his human form.

"I had a talk with that woman but… She'll never learn, Lea." Luke couldn't bring himself to smile, "I'd recommend letting your parents know she might be an issue."

Lea gave Luke a bear hug, lifting him up off of the ground and nearly crushing him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

A certain Corolla pulled up and two adults left the car, shouting for their kids.

Luke realized who they were and laughed, "So these are your parents? Hey, name's Luke."

"Lea… What is he doing here?" Lynn asked tentatively as Kurt loaded his now sleeping daughter into the back of their small car, no small feat by any stretch of the imagination.

"Mom, this is my friend Luke. He saved Sherry's life tonight, I think. Geiney's older sister is… Well, she's a fanatic, apparently." Lea hated to put it into words like that but what words could accurately describe her otherwise radical dogma?

"This isn't the first time she's acted this way but for werewolves, too?" Luke put his knuckles to his chin, "They must have been tracking a monster of sorts and she just decided to take Sherry out as collateral."

Kurt sniffed the air, "I could deal with her…"

Luke shook his head, "Rather not incite that war. Demons are still tracking them down and I'd hate to find out what they'd do if they heard you were fighting each other."

"That's an astute point. I'll hold off for now." Kurt grumbled under his breath over damn witch infestations.

"If I can talk her down, I will. If I have to knock sense into that woman, I will," Luke admitted in no uncertain terms, "I won't allow harm to come to my friends as long as I breathe."

Lynn shook Luke's hand, "Thank you for this, Luke? My name's Lynn. Husband's Kurt."

Kurt waved to the two as he managed to fit his daughter in and close the doors, taking the driver's seat, "I'm taking the wheel, honey. Still have motion sickness."

Lea laughed, "I'll just walk home. I know the way."

Lynn gave her son a kiss on the forehead, "Thank you for helping her too, Lea. You'll get some extra treats when you get back."

As the two concerned parents pulled out and drove home, Luke found himself smiling, "Good people. I'd hate to disappoint their expectations."

"Luke… What do we do? Can we even be friends with Geiney with his sister like that?" Lea's tone was beyond downtrodden.

"It's… a challenge," Luke stretched the latter word out, "I'm hoping for the best but tonight's been rough. Real rough. If I can't sway her, I don't think we'll ever fix this gap between us."

Lea faced Luke and with his ears lowered, tail whipping back and forth, he spoke, "I'm sorry for everything. Meddling with you and Ruby was not my place. I didn't consider how it could backfire."

Luke winked at Lea, "Backfire? I think I may have a shot."

"Really? With the ice queen herself?"

"She's not that frigid. Besides…" Luke smirked, "After seeing that outfit, I have to try at least half as hard to impress her back."

Lea smiled at that joke and began teasing once more as Luke thought about where to go next.

…

Ailyn was speechless, "Sara, you've changed. That's not like you."

"What are you talking about?" Sara didn't take kindly to her tone.

"I let it go with Raviel because he was working for the enemy, but this is too much. If you don't calm yourself, you are no better than a demon with powers." Ailyn's cold words tore at Sara's heart.

Luz concurred, "How can I side with you when you're like this, Sara? I'm scared of this side of you."

Sara rubbed her temples, "Look, we can discuss this later. I need to call Roseanne. If Luke wasn't lying, she might be really ill."

"Checking on her before your brother?" Luz's passing comment dug deep, "Ailyn, take me home. I just want to sleep this night off."

Ailyn appreciated the thought and grabbed Luz's arm, "Stay out of trouble, Sara. I want you to come home safe too."

"I'm the only one who cares about protecting us around here," Sara's reply was harsh and distant.

Sighing, Ailyn orbed away with Luz, leaving Sara alone to her thoughts.

Sara wrestled with the dark thoughts in her head, "I can't let them talk me down. Complacency breeds tragedy. You trust one monster and then you pay for it with your life. Just like…"

…

The Darkmore Psychological Institute and Hospital loomed over the streets before it, a behemoth overlooking most of the neighboring buildings by several stories.

Luke entered through the sliding doors and notified the front desk worker, "Hey, it's Luke. Luke Richardson. My father is Bob Richardson. I wanted to see him again today."

The secretary quickly began typing away to look up the details, "He was moved to the thirteenth floor, room 1301. Do you need help locating the room?"

"No, I've got it," Luke thanked her for her time and headed for the elevator. Seeing the machine make a couple of scraping noises as it lowered itself to his floor, Luke silently opted for the stairs. Each of the cold concrete staircases increased the feeling of loneliness as Luke passed no one in the old stairwell. It was being maintained, of course; the floors were free of trash or spilled chemicals, but the area was dusty and the quiet loomed over like a shadow.

The feeling of uneasiness grew as Luke reached the unluckiest floor around and slowly walked through the eerily silent hallways. The hospital practically seemed deserted but Luke understood why. The hospital focused mostly on psychologically ill patients so the thirteenth floor was reserved for critically ill and comatose patients. No one normally visited so late and especially on a holiday so it was just his mind being weird about the most mundane things again.

The real horror greeted him as he opened the door; the entire way it creaked loudly and shattered the ambience building up so far. Luke's father was on the bed, his skin clinging to his feeble bones as he breathed into a series of tubes. He had long been unconscious, the daily meals taking what energy he had away from him. Luke hated visiting him. How could he come to terms with his lively and spirited father being reduced to a worn shell such as this?

"Dad, I'm here to… to try and help you," Luke spoke softly so as not to wake him, "I know I should have asked Ailyn or tried earlier but I was… hoping you'd wake up. You're always so strong and… And I believed that you'd beat this easily."

Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on his father's. It was colder than he expected, "You never believed me, did you? That smoking could do this to someone like you? You were always so proud." Laughing lightly, the stifling sadness threatened to overwhelm him, "A friend of mine gave me the power to heal. I don't know if it'll work but I have to try… If it works, maybe you can teach me more about your life. You never did finish most of your stories, huh?"

Standing up, Luke raised both of his hands and placed them on his father. Channeling Raviel's life force, Luke let the green energy wash over him. The lights that rose up colored the room a kind green, the spectacle soothing Luke. He hoped this wouldn't alert whatever guards might be watching as he continued on his work.

…

Geiney found Charlie, Shera, and Ruby sitting together at the table they were once at, "You still haven't left yet?"

Ruby, arms still folded, gave him a light smirk, "We've waited for you. Alice had her memories touched up by that Whitelighter of yours and she went home."

"Alice…" Geiney felt guilty about not getting to compliment her stellar outfit before she left.

Charlie stared at the table, still in shock, "Shera, you weren't kidding, huh? Being the one normal guy at this table is kinda… terrifying to be honest."

"You don't have to stay normal," Shera reminded him under her breath, "I'll keep you safe."

"Where's Luke?" Ruby had to wait a certain amount of time to pass to ask without being suspected of anything as these guys were wont to do, "Wasn't he supposed to come back with you?"

Geiney remembered, "Oh, right! He went to check on Sherry and Lea. My sister, she uh…"

"Was terrible to her, huh?" Shera's tone was firm, "We can read it in your face."

"I wish I could say otherwise," Geiney sounded bitter and he knew it, "We'll try to work on it later."

Ruby kicked one leg over the other, "What a disastrous night. Didn't get to dance or anything."

"Oh?" Shera once again latched on to her words, "So you wanted to dance with someone? Luke, perhaps?"

"It's a group like thing, isn't it?" Ruby played it off easily, "I never said with anyone."

Shera smarmily gazed into her eyes, "Sure thin, girl. Whatever you say."

Ruby returned her friend's teasing in kind, "Your first date could've gone better. Maybe worry about your troubled romance."

"Ain't that the truth," Charlie admitted, "I wanted to make the most of tonight."

"Let's go to my place then. You can meet my parents," Ruby offered, "It's a big enough place; you can stay the night. I'll call Lea and ask if he's free."

Geiney reached for his phone, "Let me see if I can get ahold of Alice."

"Calling your girlfriend?" Charlie taunted.

"What!? No!" His reaction was accompanied by a painfully red face.

Ruby jumped on the bandwagon with a wicked grin, "Guilty as sin."

"Before you kids head out…" The four turned to see the clearly exhausted police chief standing next to the lamp post, the light illuminating the badge on his hat, "I have a question or two."

…

Luke's body started to rend as the amount of energy he poured into his sleeping father eroded his own health bit by bit. He had never healed an internal issue once and it was a monumental task for his weary body. Still adjusting to the newest soul inside him, Luke collapsed to his knees.

The room went completely still as Luke regulated his breathing. He could move after a few moments and forced himself up to see his father.

Bob had opened his eyes slowly, his eyes adjusting to the dimly lit room as he focused them on his own son for the first time in days, "…Luke? You're here? Son…"

"Dad, it's going to be okay…" Luke was cheering in his head. A resounding success! He wouldn't even hold this over Sara, he was so ecstatic. As he reached for his father's hand, he smiled warmly, "I'm so happy you're awake… I've missed you! Mom's been off with that other guy and… Well, you don't want to hear about that."

"You've… grown? I'm sorry we didn't… spend much time together lately… Don't ever believe I'm not proud of you…" Luke felt his legs nearly give out from hearing the pride in his father's voice.

Luke continued to smile like a giddy child, "I… Thanks, dad. I… I just missed you so much and-!"

Luke's father let out a gruesome scream and this startled Luke, "Dad!?"

The heart monitor attached to him moved sporadically as several alarms went off and noises of people sprinting down the hallway echoed through the ghastly silent corridor. "Dad!?"

Bob's eyes clouded over as red veins glowed and overtook his normal ones, spreading like a virus across his flesh. As the first two orderlies entered the room and yelled for Luke to move, the entire world slowed to a crawl. One grabbed Luke and pulled him away, the name tag reading Jesse. Jesse, a tall blond man with a strong jawline and kind eyes hefted Luke up and tried to shield his eyes as a doctor practically fell into the room amidst the confused yells and the screaming of the patient.

As the doctor tried to check the vitals of his patient and stabilize him, he was forced back as Bob's chest was practically pulled apart, vines shooting out. Jesse tried to cover Luke's eyes but he saw what had happened. A rose made of pure red liquid formed in Bob's chest, blooming in a mere few seconds as the rest of the blood in his body was drained, siphoned from the tank that was his fresh corpse. His eyes still clouded over, his face etched into a permanent open mouth scream, the vines coming out of it having covered his voice box and likely suffocated him at the end.

Luke glanced over at the spectacle one last time and screamed loudly enough that Jesse let go. Luke fled for the rooftop, desperately struggling to think what had just happened.

As he burst through the locked rooftop door with enough force to rattle the hinges, it clicked. The Roseblood in him tainted his magic. In a panic, Luke removed the special blade from his pocket and aimed for his heart.

"Kid, stop!" Jesse had already followed him there and Luke in desperation headed for the edge, "Back off from there! Don't do it!"

"You don't… I just…" Luke decided he just had to do it and, pulling his hood over his head, moved the blade. In desperation, Jesse rushed forward. Luke stepped back and as he began to plummet, Jesse grabbed Luke hard and pulled him up onto the roof.

Unfortunately, he also pulled the blade Luke had pointed at him straight into his chest. Jesse's breath caught in his throat and he fell forward, sending both of the men plummeting to the earth below. Luke caught sight of Jesse's dead eyes, all life lost in the blue pools as he hit the ground and blacked out.

He must have only been out for a few seconds as he came to relatively quickly. Glancing at Jesse's corpse, Luke cried out a choked 'I'm sorry' before gripping the blade and plunging it into his own chest.

The pain instantly overwhelmed his guilt as the specialized dagger extracted the taint of the Roseblood from his body agonizingly slowly. Once the weapon finished its job and was spent, Luke glanced back to Jesse. Witnessing two orderlies exiting the hospital, Luke shimmered out of there, wanting to avoid being caught in a murder.

Luke appeared on his own doorstep and he heaved every last bit of food onto his front lawn, falling to his knees as his crying intensified to where he could no longer see.

Stumbling to the front door, he fumbled with his keys for several minutes in the cold fall air until he finally grabbed the right one and unlocked the front door. Tossing his blood-covered robe into the trash, Luke found his way into the bathroom. Turning on the shower and letting the water grow warm, Luke wiped the mirror clean and stared into his own terrified reflection. Blood was still leaking from the stab wound and Luke put warm water into his hands to wash his face.

As he lifted his head up, his blood ran cold as Jesse's dead eyes glared back at him, "You're a demon now. You killed an innocent just trying to help."

"W-what…?" Luke's mind deteriorated as the demonic being in the mirror mocked him further.

"You murdered me. Sara was right; you're just a danger to others."

Luke refused to buy that, "It was an accident! You… you came to me!"

Jesse laughed, his voice warped and distorted with a small metallic tinge, "Excuses. If you just left normally, I'd be alive and well cleaning up your other mess. Your father won't be proud of you now."

"Shut the fuck up!" Luke screamed as he slammed his fist into the glass, shattering the mirror, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

The voice faded away as Luke fell back against the wall and ogled his bleeding hand, "I… I…"

As he spotted several mirror fragments on the floor, his deceased father appeared, vines still growing from his mouth, "Barath did this… You let the real monster play around!"

"Dad, I…"

"You let me down in life so much you had to end it that way too," Luke's father took on a darker sinister tone as blood oozed from the mirror pieces, forming roses and coating the walls and ceiling, "The last of my blood is in you. What a waste!"

Jesse returned in other broken pieces as they levitated and fell back down, repeating the process, "Broken mirror, broken me…"

Hands gripped Luke from the wall, "You're one of us now, kid! Embrace the deaths you'll cause!"

Sheer unadulterated fear consumed Luke as he lifted a piece of mirror and jammed it into his arm, "Go away!" In a last ditch bid to erase their presence, Luke dragged the mirror shard down his arm, the tendon severing as it spat blood all over the floor, "Go away! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!"

As the blade dug deep, sinking into his flesh, hungry for his suffering, the visions slowly faded. The more pain Luke forced out of his body, the less the voices chanted his crimes over and over.

With one last powerful thrust, the mirror shard embedded nearly through his right arm, the voices faded completely. Luke's only moment of clarity and sanity was swiftly tarnished when his mother, having returned moments ago, discovered him in a pool of his own blood, mirror still piercing him.


	19. The Roseblood Lingers

Barath kept his thoughts to himself as a sickly demon told him of the events of the previous night. With a sinister grin, Barath barked, "Enough! Return to your post!"

As the demon nodded in fear and shimmered out, Barath smiled wide as he waltzed into the mansion foyer. Vespa, Alvomith, Gurath, Venali, and Tazrun had all been killed by that young kid. Erinea had defected and Veketh had gone missing himself. How perfect.

Three shadows in the room moved toward the sadistic demon. One, an aged, decrepit old man with red lines lining his face from his temples to his eyes, spoke in a scratchy voice, "Well, Barath? What's so important?"

"Jebediah, the Old One. Miria, the Hag. Varland, the Warlock," Barath addressed each of them, "The last of the Roseblood Gang. You left behind the others as Veketh hunted you down, correct?"

The hag stepped forward, her long pointed nose and red lines coming into light long before her rotund chin and saggy skin, "It started slowly. Arvic the Gambler drunk himself into a stupor only to find the blade we made planted in his chest."

The third, a much younger-looking man with bright eyes, a Cheshire grin, dark red hair and matching eyes, the lines even more pronounced on his head, continued the tale, "The only way to reverse the curse is to kill the seven who caused it. Darren the Rash rushed in and got himself trapped and killed back in the seventies, eh?"

Jebediah nodded, "Ariel the Vicious fell to his blade back not long after, hoping to avenge that idiot…"

"Then your boss, Javier the Rebel, passed away of natural causes. If I take it right, the blade can't remove the curse now," Barath counted them down in his mind.

"If we truly do wish to revive the others to strengthen the blood, there'd be a chance," Varland warned the others, "We have a sizeable horde but since Veketh's lost so quickly, we can't take Old Valentine like we planned."

Barath growled, "Just force the transformations."

Miria pushed Barath away with a gust of wind, "Calm yourself already. They don't trust easily. Veketh is their contact. Perhaps if he's still around, we can coerce him to take the leap."

"He wants to avenge his family long before his gang," Barath assured them, "He'll do it if he feels he needs them to kill us. It's our job to make that a reality."

"Then we'll kill the family as planned," Jebediah laughed, "He'll come eventually."

Miria glanced around at the others, "That boy is our prime target. He's strong enough to wipe out the Eight of Blades. Even Barath would have been killed…"

Varland rebuffed her, "He's not dumb enough to get caught. And we're far above even Veketh himself."

"Not sayin' much," Jebediah croaked out, "We're losin' our powers too. We need the Roseblood to work or… Or we'll wither away."

"You all do," Varland corrected, "I chose to sacrifice power for energy management." Varland demonstrated this by releasing some energy, shaking the room as his body began to change, warping into a more athletic form than before.

Miria glared at the young one, "If we killed you, it'd give us time." Jebediah nodded and seriously considered the prospect.

Barath screamed at the three, "Damn it, no! We need everyone to beat them!"

"If you say so…" Varland trailed off.

As the four discussed their plans, Veketh watched from afar. Unfortunately, they were right. He could barely beat Ariel last time, and she had burned out like a candle in comparison. If they revived the others, he'd have the chance. Taking Old Valentine would only help them. Veketh thought to himself over the possibilities and found one solution. He'd just have to give up for now.

However, if they were killed without the blade in his hands, he'd lose out on curing the curse. With no other recourse, Veketh decided to shadow the four until the time came. Once they were dead, he could find peace. Whether he deserved it, only God could decide.

…

"This is your house!?" Geiney exclaimed, his mouth dropping to the floor. Out of the group Geiney and Charlie had been the only ones to not have seen the house yet. Rather, the manor that loomed before them, a gothic-themed architectural wonder. The front gates were wide open and were guarded by two gargoyle statues with their wings extended, giving a silent roar towards the heavens. The manor was at least three stories high and a tower high above the mansion caught the attention of anyone staring at the magnificence of such a palace.

Geiney suddenly felt small and out of place there. He felt like he didn't belong in front of such a magnificent place. _Hell, my home could probably fit inside this manor five times!_ There were a few lamps illuminating the home in the dark of the night with different colors illuminating different shapes and stars on the house.

"Don't think about it too much." Ruby patted him on the shoulder, breaking his thoughts.

"Sorry. I've just never been in a home quite like this. It's beautiful." Geiney replied.

"Thank you." Ruby beamed.

The five of them besides the young Cuentas boy; Ruby, Sherry, Shera, Lea, and Charlie, started walking towards the front door almost dragging a mesmerized Geiney along.

Charlie, Geiney and Shera were huddled together talking about the manor while Lea, Ruby, and Sherry were huddled in another group.

"You behave yourself, Lea." Sherry whispered threateningly.

Lea feigned innocence and jabbed a finger at his cheek, "Who? Moi?"

"Don't be touching your crush tonight." Sherry pointed menacingly.

"Now what would give you that idea?" He teased.

"If you go touching him you'll have me to deal with." Ruby sang.

Lea's face dropped and he shivered. He had already seen her wrath once and he would rather not have to go through that himself. He didn't want to be chased by her. Vampires were said to be faster than cats…

Geiney's eyes lit up when they saw the inside. Everything looked exactly like a mansion from the movies; from the red velvet carpet on the floor to the stairways curling around and leading upstairs. To the left was the living room area where a fireplace was lit, the room a comfortably warm temperature despite the chilling October air. On the right was a kitchen with a marble table at least thirty feet long with table candelabras burning. The house smelled somewhat earthy with a sweet lemony scent.

Like a small child, Geiney roamed the area looking at one thing and another, his eyes filled with wonder.

"Kids…" Charlie shook his head.

That's when a loud booming voice startled the whole group, "My, my, when did you become so friendly with strangers!?"

Standing at the bottom of the stairway leading straight up was a tall, looming man with a broad chest and thin limbs, his face pressed tightly against the bones underneath. His dark red eyes cast a menacing vibe to the newcomers. His suit was impeccable, giving him a Dracula vibe.

"Matthias Bloodworth…" Shera spoke his name aloud to illuminate his legend unto the others, "He's a legend around most of Europe. Matthias was a legendary vampire slayer, a tour de force in his own right. That is…"

"Until he encountered one he couldn't quite defeat…" The seductive voice ringing behind them shocked Charlie and Geiney to the point they felt their souls leave their bodies.

Shera glanced at the woman dressed in a black dress, spider web designs weaved into the well-made work. The woman, a blonde busty bombshell in her own right, was powerful enough that Shera's whole body screamed in fear.

Matthias grinned and held his hand to his chin, "Victoria Bloodworth, last in the long line of vampires roaming the English countryside. She was of great help to me several times in my career, selling out older vampires to increase her own notoriety."

"Somewhere along the way I managed to tame him as well. Once his deeds were done, he sided with me against a common foe," Victoria recalled the end of their journey, "Whether he intended to kill me after or not… I can't tell. I just knew one thing."

"I'd never have hurt Ruby…" Matthias pointed to his daughter, "You're why I'm stuck in this marriage, kiddo."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Stop being so dramatic. You're so in love with her, you couldn't lay a finger on her."

Matthias laughed at his own daughter's boldness, "Ah, you see right through me. I assure you, there was indeed a time I contemplated it. "

"The same could be said of me. It would have certainly emboldened my career." Victoria responded in kind, "In the end, I'm fine retiring from the world of vampire politics. I just hope Ruby won't ever be involved."

Ruby folded her arms under her chest, "If they tried, I'd fight them off."

Matthias smirked at his little girl and patted her on the head, "Like mother, like daughter. So is the young man in question here?"

"What? No, no. He's out and about…" Ruby trailed off.

Geiney stepped forward, "Are you talking about Luke?"

Hiding her face, Ruby nodded, "Who else?"

Shera raised an eyebrow, "So you have mentioned him to your parents."

"We observe anomalies in this town," Matthias corrected them; "We had a run-in with an old monk here and nearly died with him. After learning such a powerful magical professional lived here, we saw to it to engage ourselves in the local magical history."

That sounded familiar to Geiney. He'd have to ask later.

Victoria continued her husband's point, "We knew when Geiney's family came to town. No veil could stop you from smelling how you do."

"That's uh… kinda creepy…" Geiney felt her eyes overlooking him to be even more terrifying than before.

"We knew when Lea's family came into town and we even have tabs on a few other magically-inclined beings. We're also very aware of the current demonic presence," Matthias lectured on, ignoring any surprised looks from the others, "We were tempted to step in but, well…"

Victoria leaned against one of the several stone pillars holding the roof up, "Like that first gentleman we fought, we feared your sisters may take offense to our presence if we came out of nowhere. Seeing the eldest's reaction to Sherry here has all but confirmed our fears."

Matthias gave Geiney a terrifying glare, "We could just kill them both and call it good. The fact of the matter is you'd die without them."

"I can handle myself!" Geiney exclaimed in a moment of fiery passion, "I've been getting way stronger lately!"

"Mike Hell was a formidable foe, one not to be tangled with lightly, was he not?" Geiney stopped when Matthias reminded him, "Of the Eight of Blades, only Veketh, the leader, is stronger. Though he has yet to show himself…"

Geiney raised an eyebrow, "The Eight of… Blades?"

Victoria walked over to her husband and sighed, "You said too much."

Matthias realized his daughter was also giving him a hard look, "Fine, I guess I have to tell it all now."

"Dad, what's been going on…?" Ruby's voice, filled with trepidation, earned another sigh.

"We started watching him after the death of Yuriel. A human absorbing the powers of demons rarely goes well, but then he started fighting back. After killing Losifer and aiding you in the battle with Mike Hell, he began a new campaign against the Eight of Blades," Matthias recounted the events clearly.

Geiney thought back, "I think I heard that name before… My parents mentioned it once."

Matthias smirked, "Yes, Veketh, the leader, fought against your parents. His team, sans his son, was wiped out. His son, human then, was wounded and… Well, Tazrun became a Grimlock to survive."

"Grimlocks feed on children, don't they!?" Geiney remembered the horrible visage that was etched onto the page of the Book of Shadows.

"Luke started with Goris and one by one, claimed their powers and their weapons. Goris, the Headsman's Axe. Alvomith, the Joker's Deck. Gurath, the Scout's Chakrams. Venali, Honor among Demons. Tazrun, the Morbid Mauser. Five members have fallen already," His story was given as much of his theatrics as possible, "Only three remain."

Geiney paused his thoughts, "He's been fighting all this time? Why?"

Victoria posited her ideas first, "Either he's trying to help you guys or building his power for personal reasons. Since Veketh is stronger than even Mike, he's likely expecting a hard final fight."

"What about the other two?"

Victoria casually dismissed the first, "Erinea has basically surrendered. She's in the custody of Luke's friend; rather, she's living with them now. After her brother Venali died, she gave up and turned on the group."

"Barath the Torturer is allied with another group, the Roseblood Gang. They produce a chemical made from the blood of innocents to empower themselves," Matthias's tone turned cold, "Their leader made a pact with some devil and the curse gifted them with power at a high cost. The more of it they create, the stronger they become. Over time, Veketh's hunted down three of them already and a fourth passed from natural causes."

Geiney frowned, "Well, can we break the curse?"

Victoria spoke again, "Not easily. You need the Roseblade, an artifact created to reverse the curse. Veketh has it. The blade must be used to kill the seven members of the Roseblood Gang. He's got a vendetta against the Gang. He's only cooperating to take them out, it seems. He's not strong enough to fight them all."

Matthias nodded to himself, "If your friend doesn't deal with them, you will have to. They're dead set on killing you. Being paid by the same people the Power Sorcerers and those other two demons were."

"Someone wants my family dead? Why?"

"You're witches. There's hundreds of possibilities," Victoria stretched out, "Isn't this enough talking? I wanted to settle in for a movie upstairs."

"Go on ahead, I'll be right up," Matthias reassured her and she finally heads upstairs down another hallway.

Ruby asked, "You weren't going to tell me about him?"

Matthias faced the group one last time, "That boy's done a lot to protect your family, boy." Approaching Geiney, Matthias leaned down and stared into his soul, "You're honor bound to keep him safe in return. Very soon, he'll need you by his side."

"Why do you say that…?"

"I say this because the Roseblood Gang has found a way to revive their old members and revitalize themselves. If they do, it'll be a war that will consume this whole town. He'll need your help if it comes down to that," Matthias warned Geiney strongly before ascending the stairs and leaving the room.

Charlie watched on silently, "I didn't know he'd been doing all that."

Geiney frowned, "I wished he'd told me. Well, with how Sara's been, maybe he's better off being quiet."

Sherry excused herself to the restroom as the group waited to hear back from Alice.

…

"Alice couldn't come then?" Geiney sounded slightly upset, "I was hoping they'd let her sleep over."

Lea shrugged, "Guess her luck tapped out. Good for me, huh?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow at his comment, "Keep your hands off him, fur ball. Not at my house is anyone getting kibbles and frisky."

"What about Luke?" Sherry stepped inside, wiping a couple strands of fur off of her forearms, "When's he showing up?"

Geiney reached for his phone, "I'll pop him a text real quick."

"Oh, I see how it is. Four months with no response but you'll message him?" Charlie quipped.

"It was one time!" Geiney exclaimed in return.

Charlie grabbed Geiney's head and stared him down, "You went to the movies and forgot to message me first."

Geiney guiltily turned his head, "I forgot Luke, too."

"You think that makes that better!?" Charlie's scratchy voice came out for a second.

"Come on, my bedroom is in one of the towers." Ruby stepped up to lead the gang upstairs.

"Seriously? You live in a tower?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah. I liked the view so I made the tower into my bedroom." Ruby shrugged.

The gang was led up the stairs over the blood red carpet that seemed to have taken over the home. Geiney couldn't even fathom how much the house must have cost; a fortune definitely. They had more bathrooms in their mansion than they had people living in them.

Geiney passed an older portrait, a painting of a man with long curly hair down the sides covering his ears. He had a Painter's Brush mustache and the darkest amber eyes Geiney had ever seen. The man's crown was a red cap with the rims surrounded in rounded jewels. Where the cap met his head was an eight pointed gold star with a bright red ruby surrounded in eight pearls. There was something about those eyes that lured Geiney in but at the same time gave him a haunting feeling; somewhat dark and mysterious.

As Geiney remained fixated on the picture, the others went on ahead without him.

"That's our ancestor. Vladimir III, the Martyr. Our family lineage comes from him." Ruby decided to humor Geiney's curiosity.

"He looks like a very powerful man."

"He is," She admitted. The whole hint went over Geiney's head where he continued to eye the painting

"Come on, Geiney. Everyone's waiting." Geiney glanced at the portrait once more before following Ruby towards her bedroom.

"Your parents are okay with you having guys over to a sleepover?" Geiney asked. He was quite honestly curious since his sisters didn't like girls sleeping over with him.

"Yeah, they are."

"They aren't afraid of leaving you alone with guys?" He pressed.

Ruby gave a light chuckle, "They don't have to worry because they know I can take care of myself. Besides, any guy who tries to touch me in _that_ way gets his hand chopped off." Ruby continued on; she didn't notice Geiney stopped to shiver.

 _Right, don't touch her. Got it!_ He thought to himself. When they arrived, there was already some commotion with Sherry and Shera wrestling on the floor.

"Alright, ladies! Order!" Ruby bellowed, startling the unprepared Geiney.

"Boys on that side," She pointed to an empty spot on the floor, "girls on the bed!" She slapped her fists to her waist with a triumphant stance.

"I won't argue with that." Geiney said without hesitation, still fearing her might.

In the middle of the room to the wall was the bed and on either side a dresser and a bedside table. On the other side a table with an assortment of makeup Shera had insisted on getting was lined up and organized. The window was blocked by a tapestry with the only source of light from four light bulbs on the ceiling fan and two standing lamps on either side of the bedroom.

"But that bed looks like it could fit all of us." Charlie scoffed, looking at the football-stadium size bed. The bed was at least twice the size of a normal queen bed with the bed posts holding up a canopy with dark pink and red silk curtains falling around the bed.

Geiney patted him on the shoulder, "Trust me. It's better off on the floor."

"Geiney where's your stuff?" Lea asked.

"Oh, I didn't get anything from my house." He scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed now that he realized he came empty handed.

"We can go back for your stuff." Ruby suggested.

"No!" Geiney spoke too forcefully and everyone noticed it, "I mean. I don't want to go back. I don't wanna see my sisters right now; especially when they pulled that stunt earlier this evening." He glared at the floor. He was still upset with Sara even thinking about vanquishing his friends, let alone someone who wasn't evil.

"So that's why we skipped your house…" Charlie muttered. After their meeting with Officer Robert about the monster attacks, Geiney and Charlie walked to his house to gather his things before being picked up by Ruby and her chauffeur.

Sara should've listened. What happened earlier with the werewolf incident only happened because it was the first transformation Sherry had ever experienced. Sherry didn't mean to do that; she wasn't under the right influence. Geiney couldn't believe she was going to vanquish Sherry and Luke. The thought infuriated him to no end.

His mind trailed off to the little fact about the werewolf incidents around town. Sherry couldn't have been the one at fault since this was her very first transformation. The attacks took place days, even weeks before her transformation. So he could safely say he could rule Sherry out. But if Sara was the smart one, why couldn't she see that fact? She just had to go and say she would vanquish anyone who got in her way.

Geiney snapped out of it when Ruby slapped a hand on his shoulder, "Don't think about it too much." She repeated.

Geiney was surprised; could she read thoughts as well?

"Let's get you something from the linen closet. I'm sure there's something there we can lend you." He nodded and followed her down the hall.

"What's on your mind?" Ruby asked after getting away from earshot of the group.

"It's my sister. After they cornered Sherry downtown Sara, my older sister, tried to take her down. She would've hurt her had it not been for us stepping in front of them. I don't know what's going on with my sister but this isn't the protector I remember growing up." His face darkened; a cross between a glare and an angry scowl.

"So that's what happened." She nodded.

"You and your sisters _are_ witches, then?" She wanted to clarify.

Geiney nodded. "Yeah. Lea and Sherry are were-people. Either that or anthropomorphic people."

"Just say Were-people. It's easier to say." She shook off the tongue twister. "It's what they prefer."

"And yourself? I don't think we talked about you."

"Well… Since I can trust you, I'm what I dressed up as."

"Vampire? You're a vampire? I thought Shera was exaggerating about your parents…" Geiney's mouth dropped.

Ruby shook her head, "My parents wouldn't be so invested in the magical world if they weren't. I mean… Well, they did tell you an embellished story."

Geiney cocked an eyebrow.

"Dad likes to play up the romantic parts, but the truth is my mom was a witch hunting him. When she found out he hunted vampires like himself, she became one to lure him in. They nearly did kill each other…" Ruby trailed off.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know that it was so dramatic." Geiney chuckled.

Ruby smirked, "So that's why they have the magical gear. My mom retired from being a witch to raise me and dad finished his job and up and moved here. I don't officially practice using magic either. Needless to say, mom's Whitelighter was pissed when she went that far undercover."

Geiney glanced at her outfit, "So you dressed like what you are? Kind of on the nose, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but this dress is sort of offensive. We don't all have the ashy white skin, the pure black eyes and the Romanian accent. That is all just lies made up by other vampires to exploit human expectations. Furthermore, we won't die by garlic; we just absolutely hate the smell." Ruby fake-gagged at the thought to emphasize her point.

"Alright, cool. Vampire."

"Don't worry. You don't have to be afraid. We don't drink blood from people or from cattle if that's what you're thinking. We get donations from a blood-bank or we buy blood from the hospital. We don't crave on biting or killing people." She reassured him.

They turned a corner and on the first door to the left, she opened it and Geiney's fascination only grew.

"This is your linen closet!? It looks like a normal sized room!" They entered the walk-in closet and searched the shelves. They had multiple colored towels and other linen neatly folded and organized, packed in tightly with trace amounts of dust here and there. She reached the far end of the room and found a box with sleeping bags still in their original package.

"Take this and grab a fleece blanket while you're at it. It does get kind of cold up in the tower. It's just my vampire blood that likes the cold."

He grabbed a gray colored fleece blanket to go along with the dark colored flannel sleeping bag he acquired from Ruby.

They continued their conversation when they left the closet.

"You're friend Luke isn't normal either." She said matter-of-factly.

"No. That whole situation is my fault." He admitted.

"Why?"

"We were being attacked by a demon and I ditched my plans with my friends in order to fight it off. When we came back, they had snuck in and stolen a power absorbing Athame from the demon we vanquished that evening. They were cornered by a demon and Luke killed him with the Athame and inadvertently absorbed his powers. From there it's been one thing or another. Luke promised he wasn't going to go down the path of self destruction but to tell you the truth, I'm scared."

They rounded the corner and headed down the hallway towards Ruby's tower.

"I'm scared because Luke has these powers he's not supposed to have. Sara is trying to take those powers away by force and now Luke went off to god knows where doing who knows what. I'm scared that my sister is going to hurt him, or you guys."

"And after tonight no wonder you don't want to go back."

"To tell you the truth this is the first time I've disobeyed returning home. And I'm proud of myself. I don't wanna be there anymore. Maybe I should go see if my parents want me."

"So you don't live with your parents?"

"No, it's a long story. I live with my two sisters and White Lighter. Our parents just came back into our lives."

"Then go with them."

"Come again?"

"Yeah, go find them and live with them. It'll give your sisters some time to cool off and you won't have to be in their toxic home."

Geiney liked the idea, "Speaking of which; what kind of people are your parents?"

"They're not suffocating like your sister, that's for sure. They're laissez-faire. If I ever got involved with someone though, my life would be hell."

"That would suck for you and him."

"Hm?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, her clear red eyes intimidating Geiney.

"Nothing, nothing. So how's the weather been!?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, letting him go this time, "You live in this town too, dork."

…

"Our plans for a civil war seem to have fallen through," A mysterious female voice echoed in a familiar cavern. Long abandoned by the Power Sorcerers, a new group of people now inhabited the location unbeknownst to Silas.

A man's voice, stern and unfeeling, followed in turn, "You planned a civil war. We planned to win. The Demon Fists have lost quite enough in our efforts to crush these siblings."

A third voice, a seductive woman's, chimed in as well, "That excellent specimen has made short work of our coworkers. To think our boss hired us and tricked those parents into thinking Belphegor would be involved is quite amusing."

The first voice spoke again, "Lily, do you take things seriously at all?"

"Marina, of course I do… Hedonism is just more important than that woman's contract!" With a sing-song tone, Lily addressed their partner, "Vake, don't you think this is fun? Jeremy, Alex, the Power Sorcerers. The Eight of Blades and the Roseblood Gang being hired for this, well it seems like fate. The Cuentas Family's past has really come to haunt them."

"Mayhap that's my meddling at hand," Marina teased, "Whatever will poor Veketh do all alone?"

Vake sounded more annoyed the next time he spoke, "They should be working together. We should just help kill them now."

Lily whined, "But that's woooork… I could kill the boys, though…"

"What a pathetic little slut you are," Vake's cold tone cut sharply, "A succubus isn't fit for leadership. Why don't you try your little plans and leave the real demons be?!"

"I won't take backtalk from a demon with a split personality," Lily replied in anger, "Your other self is more competent than you could ever hope to be."

Vake snapped at her, "Keva is a coward and you're little more than a horny teenager!"

Marina laughed at her companion's fruitless behavior, "Would we really be help to them in our current states?"

"Then I'll just go." Vake answered her.

"The reason the Elders haven't involved themselves yet is because they're expecting Belphegor. If you show up and ruin the illusion our gracious host permitted us, we lose that protection entirely." Marina's calm words managed to soothe Vake's rage.

Lily snidely commented at her partner's expense, "I can start my plan. Since I'm not a threat, right?"

Lily shimmered out of the room, leaving the more composed demons to think to themselves.

"Why did you bring her in the first place!?" Vake yelled at his ally, "She's a nuisance at best; and most times she's just a danger to us all!"

"She's a powerful Succubus, I assure you," Marina replied with a cutesy voice, "Could you imagine her true might? I have to see her at her peak to know her true limits."

Vake shook his head and began to remove his hood, "If we're all killed, I'm blaming you."

Marina began to remove hers as well, "You're the leader, aren't you? Won't it be your duty to face the reaper?"

…

Luke found himself alone and quiet as he stumbled to the front door of an abandoned building. As he stepped inside the darkened hallways, a trio of demons dropped from the second floor, the hole in the roof made in a previous scuffle.

"You're the Old Valentine Butcher, ain't ya!?" One of the demons hissed, "Marina's interested in ya."

The second demon spoke up after in a gravelly tone, "To acquire the interest in our boss… Fun to consider how strong you might be."

"I can smell the blood of the innocent on him," The third demon, the only girlish one, piped up, "Who was your first mortal?"

In a single fluid motion, Luke forced his fist through the chest cavity of the third demon in an instant.

The first jumped back, eyes widened, "We're Marina's personal guards! You can't just kill us like that!"

With a casual turn, Luke blasted the second demon away in fire, his corpse fluttering in the wind as ashes flew to the ceiling. The last demon standing noticed the lines on Luke's head resembling the Roseblood fellows. _Had he taken the chemicals himself? It looked different; purified. Was it the malevolent emotions inside him changing the way it worked?_

"You're stronger than I expected… Definitely the Butcher in the flesh," The last demon decided to try diplomacy, "Marina and the rest of the guard are coming to meet with ya. So maybe you could not kill me, too?"

"If it weren't for you scum-sucking leeches…" Luke stepped towards the craven demon, "I'd never have gone this far!" Grabbing the unfortunate greeter, Luke callously snapped his neck, frowning harder as he felt the shimmering of demons behind him.

Marina stepped forward, still donning her cloak, "My, my… You're a violent one."

Alongside her were the promised Guardians of Marina, nine demons of various sizes in similar cloaks, "Master, he's slain the greeters."

"I have eyes, Donavihk," Marina chided his ally and presumably second-in-command, "Luke, please. We're here to talk to you."

Luke's tired eyes passed over them, "I have no words for you. I just want to destroy you."

Marina smiles at his lackluster response, "Then I'll let you suffer for a bit. Men, teach him our real abilities."

Donavihk nodded and lunged forward. With a single punch, he dropped Luke to his knees. The other demons smiled at this and moved forward in earnest.

"Is that all, Butcher?" Donavihk taunted the boy on his master's orders. Marina's interest in him was notable; only Donavihk and her partners ever had interested her before.

Luke's empty gaze softened Donavihk's disposition slightly. The boy was broken by the events of the night. Without uttering a word, Luke brandished his blade and plunged it into the nearest demon, the opportunistic monster shriveling up in the moment.

Donavihk stepped back, making way for the other seven, "The rest of you can handle this brat, can't you!? Marina's Guardians must be worth at least this one hurdle to greatness!"

Marina watched over the festivities, wondering how this would play out. Would he at least make an enjoyable spectacle for one night?

…

Geiney was in a corner of the bedroom, a pillow fight had broken out and Geiney stepped out to stare at his inbox. There were no new messages. Something didn't feel right about this. "Luke, where are you?" He just hoped nothing bad had happened to him, god forbid with any demons…

…

By the time they went all went to sleep; after a couple pillow fights, some wrestling, and a few ghost stories, Lea was the only one awake. On the floor lay Charlie; Lea was next to Geiney. Geiney was a few inches away from the wall, his back facing it. Lea lay on the floor; his folded arms his only means of holding his head up. He watched his charge's sleeping form, listening to Geiney's slow breaths.

"Don't even think about it, Lea," whispered Sherry, poking her head from the curtains of the canopy.

Lea sat up, "I wasn't doing anything." He whispered right back.

"I know you have feelings for him but don't act on anything. Not until he has more control of the situation at home."

He scoffed, "Don't remind me."

"His sisters are going to be a problem. The oldest tried to vanquish me earlier today. She now knows what your werecat form looks like so you have to be careful."

"Yeah, I know. But Geiney is gonna need some moral support, don't cha think?"

Sherry shrugged, "Just don't let your heart get in the way. You are still his familiar so you have to put that duty first before anything else."

Lea didn't like the idea but it was what he signed up for. "Yeah, I just hope he'll be alright."

"He's a strong witch with a lot of heart. He'll be just fine. Now go to sleep."

"But tomorrow's Saturday." He whined.

"I know. I get to go home but you have to go home with Geiney."

Sherry retreated back inside the canopy in the privacy of the girl's tent. Lea laid on his side facing Geiney. He just hoped that he really would be fine even after facing his oldest sister. Lea reached up and booped Geiney on the nose before curling up underneath his own sleeping bag and turning in for the night.

…

Silas sensed something was wrong with his friend. Standing up from the darkened room of the former Eight of Blades hideout, he headed for the doorway.

"It's the boss, ain't it? Marina's in town," Erinea told Silas what she knew, "She's one of the Generals. Apparently their contractor faked their appearance to the Cuentas parents to stave them off."

"Is that so? Then they must fear the parents getting involved then." Silas nodded to himself, "I'll go bring that kid back. Then we can talk about what you're going to do from now on."

Erinea weakly nodded before sitting back down in the dark room, "I warrant a discussion?"

…

Luke ripped the blade from the eighth demon he had killed that night, his wounds severe enough that he stumbled. Donavihk chuckled at the display of power, "I thought you'd be dead by now."

"If I died every time the odds were against me…" Luke lifted himself to his feet, clearly struggling to stand, "You're not like them, though. You've been monitoring the fight."

"Knowing an opponent's abilities is imperative to taking them down," Donavihk cracked his fingers, "Do you intend to keep this up?"

Luke fell back as Silas shimmered in, "Nah, the cavalry's here, I guess. I'll be back for you both."

Silas grabbed Luke and waved to the two as they shimmered out.

"Are we chasing them?" Donavihk turned to his master with a disinterested look.

Marina opened up a dark portal behind her, "We'll ask again later. The fact he could stand up to us at all means there's more fun in letting him live."

Donavihk shook his head, "I worked with those guys for years and you just let them die. You've always been like this."

"I live life the way it controls us. It's fickle and used to change," Marina snidely replied, "Your efforts to amuse me must remain high, Donavihk."

"You intend to replace me with him?"

Marina stepped into the portal with a laugh.

Donavihk sighed as he opened one of his own and followed suit.

…

"Where were you?" Sara's cold voice surrounded the kitchen. Luz looked up from her breakfast to see Geiney opening up the fridge. He was wearing blue jeans with a white v-collared shirt. He wore the blue sneakers with a gray trim.

Sara was behind the island, a cup of coffee in her right hand. Sara had a red and pink top with wavy designs on it and a black skirt. She wore the pearl colored high heels with the black stockings; the dress she usually wore when needing to look more professional.

"Why? Were you worried? Were you worried that something happened to me because I went to check on the _monsters_?" Geiney spat.

 _Just watch what happens. Don't say anything_ , Luz thought to herself. She wore a red stripped v-cut blouse and denim jeans. Underneath she wore black knee high socks and pink high top style converse.

Ailyn had told them the night before that Geiney was safe with friends. It seemed that after the commotion died down Geiney hadn't returned home. When they called for Ailyn, she replied he was safe. She knew exactly where he was but would not tell either of the sisters where his exact location was. Ailyn suggested a night away from each other would calm the situation down. According to Sara, that still didn't excuse him from not telling them where he was.

"You didn't return home last night." Sara said louder than necessary.

"Sir, yes sir!" Geiney saluted, mocking Sara with a soldier's response, "I didn't return home of my own accord, sir! You were going to vanquish innocents, Sergeant Sara!"

Sara slapped her palm on the counter making the utensils on the counter jump, "Don't mock me! I was only protecting you!"

"Is that what you call it? You were going to destroy a were-person on their first transformation. And if you were smart enough you would know that the monster attacks were from weeks ago; that night was her first transformation."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She growled.

"Oh, do I really have to tell you the answer? Sherry's _first transformation_ ," he stressed, "rules out that she was the attacker. Meaning your monster is still out there."

"Doesn't matter. She could still be a threat! You are so naïve!"

"Yeah, any one of us could be a threat. Isn't that what they said during the witch trials? It's like condemning John Proctor all over again." Geiney's words were honed by his time with Luke and Charlie.

"Shut up!"

"Ooh, did that hit a nerve? Maybe I should just move out to my parent's house. I bet they'd act less reckless than you!"

"Well, then go!" Sara screamed at the very top of her lungs, silencing Geiney and startling Luz, "We don't need you here anyways! If you don't want our protection, then pack your things and leave! No one is forcing you to stay here!" Sara's breathing was labored, her cheeks flushed from anger. Geiney's teardrop went unnoticed as he turned and ran up the stairs.

"Luke was right." Luz stood from her spot and faced her older sister, chest held high.

"Excuse me?" Sara turned and glared at Luz.

"I said Luke was right. I don't know what the hell happened to you but you need to stop this irrational behavior. We are witches. Not exterminators. Need I remind you that what you're doing is the same our parents treated us? Or did you forget this already?"

Sara's glare intensified. Luz held firm; her sister didn't scare her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sara demanded.

"I don't know. Whatever you want it to mean. Whatever this is," She gestured to Sara's body, "Is not my sister. Since we were little you were always the brains, always the rational one."

"What I'm doing is to protect us. Our family needs guidance."

"You know, you keep repeating that. I don't think it means what you think it means. What happened last night was a mistake. You need to remember we protect the innocent."

Sara laughed like she couldn't believe her sister was telling her this. "You know what? Forget it. I'm going to work."

Sara grabbed her things and took off slamming the front door in the process. Luz felt the vibrations from where she stood.

"And I thought _I_ was going to have problems going back to demon hunting… Why do you always put your work before us? How many times have I heard the same line? How much work can you put in before you remember who we are?" Luz mumbled to herself, needing to hear her say this.

 _Why was Sara such a stubborn woman right now? It's like she needs to do this rampaging around. Luke holds better and he has demon powers. No, Geiney needs to leave just for a little while. Sara needs to remember who we are. Whatever mentality she has right now needs to go away. She needs to get over her fears and her pride._

Geiney came bounding the stairs dragging something heavy; the jingling of a small bell was following Geiney. Before Geiney could reach the stairs Luz stood in his way.

"Out of my way! I'm leaving for my parents'." He ordered, tears flowing freely from his eyes. He masked his sadness with anger. Jasper was by his side, tail tucked between his legs and ears pointing down.

"Well, first you have to wipe those tears from your eyes." She thumbed the tears away with a swipe for each.

Geiney regarded her for a moment watching her stand and grip her warm cup of coffee, "You're not going to stop me?"

"No. I think you're going to have an easier time with our parents. Whatever Sara thinks she's doing is not right. She needs to remember something important. Something we seem to have forgotten. Something Luke reminded me of."

"What was that?"

"We are witches; we protect the innocent, not exterminate other magical creatures as it suits us. You're absolutely right. The werewolf we are after wasn't your friend. I'll start looking in the book for a solution. But for now, tell our parents that I love them and I hope you have a good time over there." She turned to leave and when she got in the kitchen she stopped.

"Oh, don't forget this." With two fingers she gave a little wave and a jacket was flung from the coat rack towards Geiney who caught it with one arm.

"Jasper, take good care of Geiney." She nodded to the little furry cat next to him. Jasper meowed his promise and followed Geiney out of the door.

"Please tell me I'm doing the right thing…" She sighed, her tears stinging her eyes. No, she was not going to cry. She needed to be strong right now when everything was falling apart. She looked at the clock and realized it was getting late. Time to go find the real menace…

…

Ailyn arrived at Abstraks sometime after three o'clock. When she arrived at the front gates she was greeted by a familiar looking person.

"Welcome back." The man stepped up, greeting her.

"Jude?" She examined his uniform. He looked like an actual cop rather than security personnel, complete with gun. His dark blue uniform and black pants were completed by shiny black boots. He had a radio on his left shoulder, a light on his right breast pocket, and a badge on the left breast. The words, "Abstraks Security" was stitched in gold on his shoulders and on his belt were an assortment of tools and weapons ranging from baton and survival knife to handgun and simple first aid items. She especially liked how handsome he looked in said uniform. But she wasn't going to voice that aloud.

"I can definitely see you got the job. Congratulations, my friend." She beamed.

"Thank you. You look quite stunning yourself."

Ailyn chortled. She loved the compliment. She herself was dressed in a black cut out top. The front was a V-cut with spaghetti straps. The back of the top has a low cut with black lacing and covering the shoulder blades. Her dirty blond hair was done in a sleek long bob with curves and a side-swept bang over her right side. She wore ripped jeans and black studded buckle boots. She felt the need to dress as a punk rock fanatic since she had recently read that it currently all the rage amongst the young people.

"Such a gentleman. As always." She gave a courteous nod.

"I must be. Being a gentleman is a worthy goal."

"First Shakespeare, now Orlando Bloom. You have style, my friend." She complimented.

He winked at her, "So what brings you here?"

"Just going to see my friend, Sara. I need to catch up with her on something."

"Very well. You may proceed, my lady." He gave a slight bow

Ailyn blushed, "Stop that! I'm not a lady." She feigned anger but he knew better.

"So if there be no lady, what are thou?"

She snickered, "An angel?"

"If you are an angel on earth then I relinquish my stay in heaven and hell and stay in purgatory in thy beauty."

"Now, you're just making this up as you go." She rolled her eyes, leaning her weight on one foot and placing a hand at her hip.

"Just to entertain you." He admitted.

"Alright. Why don't we continue this sometime soon? Say Wong's again?"

"I would love to, Ailyn."

"I'll come find you again when I'm not on a mission."

"I'll be waiting in the shadow of your beauty." He waved and continued her way towards Sara's office.

The heavy beating of her heart worsened as she walked away from him. This mysterious man seemed to captivate her to no end. Her smile never left her face, lost in thought towards the front desk on the first floor.

"How may I help you?" The woman interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm here to see Sara Cuentas in presidency."

"Your name?"

"Ailyn Smith." The lady at the reception typed away and a small printer shrieked as it printed a temporary ID.

"Here you go, Ma'am."

"Thank you."

Ailyn pressed the button on the elevator and pressed the correct floor number. The entire ride she just kept thinking about Jude. But why was she so enamored with him? Enamored… did that mean she had feelings for him? She rolled her eyes at her own self; of course she did. She recognized the feeling well. It was a feeling similar to when she healed her charges. It was the same emotion she used when she joined their side no matter where they were. This feeling was internal, though. This wasn't a feeling she could call forth to take her someplace around the world or heal a wound. This was pining for a man she had met not long ago.

The whirring sound of the mechanical doors opening awoke her to the real world. She passed by Eva in the reception but was promptly stopped.

"Can I help you?" She looked up from her phone and recognized the woman.

"Don't I know you?" Eva was genuinely curious.

"Yes, I am Sara's sister." She recalled what Eva had said about her last time she was here.

"Oh, why yes. I couldn't recognize you in your…" She eyed the strange thing Ailyn wore, "strange get-up. You know, it's very important to dress professionally. You don't want people to think you are part of the common rabble now, would you?"

Ailyn felt a tingle of anger starting to build up.

"Common rabble?"

"Yes, with how you look right now people might think you are not a member of class. We can't have that going around. Listen, I'm trying to help you because I actually like you. Be part of the good group," She tilted her head to glare at the three adjourned desks of Daisy, Brooke, and Laura on the far side of the lobby and then raised her voice so that all could hear, "and not part of the hags that dress like cheap servants!"

Brooke; tall, lean and angry tried to jump over her desk to reach Eva but the other two girls held her down.

Ailyn quickly thought of the only thing that might shut Eva up, "Why, thank you so much, Eva! I'm glad you are looking out for me. But tell me, do you follow fashion?"

Eva looked a bit lost but went along with it, "Why of course I do! I follow the latest fashion trends. For those who can't keep up shouldn't even be following fashion."

"Then Eva, since you helped me out, I might as well help you out too. Just between us higher class girls." She said the last part loud enough for the girls in the back to hear, "You should get yourself a punk rock dress. Punk rock is all the rage these days and we have to fit amongst the crowd, don't we?"

Eva nervously chuckled, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, "Punk rock? I mean, of course! It _is_ the latest trend. But tell me, who amongst us, in the high class society, is following such a-" Eva struggled to find the correct term, "-unique trend." She gave a little humph towards Ailyn.

"Troy Brooks." She recounted the latest fashion magazine she had read and the author was none other than Sara's boss, the head of the cinematography branch of Abstraks.

Eva just about fell off her chair, "Troy Brooks!? You mean head of the cinematography branch Troy Brooks!?" She was flabbergasted. She realized she had slipped up, "I mean, yeah, that's just like Troy. You see, all of the Abstraks-heads need me constantly. I'm so busy I don't always have time to follow the latest trends. But I'm glad to see that he has a new trend out. Thank you."

"Yes, please do." Ailyn voiced aloud just so the giggling girls in the back could hear, "Dressing professional is so last season. You gotta dress punk rock. It's the only way to disassociate oneself from the common rabble. Not that you'll have much to worry about once you get yourself a dress. Have a nice day!"

The girls hid their faces in folders, binders or their computer screens, leaving Eva looking extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"Who was that girl?" Brooke whispered to Daisy.

"I think she is Sara's friend." Daisy replied to the two of them.

"I hope Eva could leave us alone for a while." Laura voiced her wish.

"Did you hear that? She destroyed Eva's fashion sense with today's fashion." They turned to glance at Eva who looked like someone had just told her that someone ran over her pet.

A few taps on the door and Ailyn was beckoned inside. Ailyn closed the door behind her but was met with Sara's and Troy's backs.

"Everything must be perfect."

"I know."

"Like everything must go according to plan. We can't have any decoration half assed."

"I know, Troy. Why don't-"

"But it all has to be perfect!"

"Troy!" Sara cut in, "Trust me. We have the banquet room under control; it's almost finished. We just need a few finishing touches here and there and then the room is ready to go. Everything we ordered is here and the chefs have started to prepare the feast for tonight."

"Well good. If you need me, I'll be in my office." Troy twirled on his heel in the most feminine of ways and was met with Ailyn and her punk rock style clothes.

"My my my! Who is this precious girl?" He gushed. Before Sara could blink he was already at Ailyn's side shaking her hands like an excited teen girl.

"My name's Ailyn." Her voice was vibrating from the sheer force Troy shook her hands.

"She is my friend." Sara introduced them and Troy took a step back.

"I see you read my fashion magazines. God, it's kind of embarrassing. I thought those things stopped selling a long time ago."

"No, Sir. They sell faster than they seem to print them."

"Well, you look just fabulous, my dear. Those boots were meant to kick ass; the ripped jeans tell everyone you can handle yourself in a bout. That top definitely speaks to my soul. It tells me you don't care what people think of you, a dark angel in the midst of all the light. No, your hair definitely says, 'I am an angel and you must admire me'."

"Thank you, Troy. I'm glad you liked it. I was really trying to go for what you imagined."

"And my dear, I couldn't have done better myself. It just looks so fabulous!" He clapped his hands giddily. "Oh, I must get going. Darling," He grabbed her hands and kissed her knuckles, "Feel free to stop by anytime. You have truly made my day!" He bid the two women farewell singing in a soprano voice. Surprisingly Sara noticed he hit every note correctly.

"Well, you met him in person." Sara laughed, sitting down.

"You know, he is definitely the way I imagined him." Ailyn nodded.

"What brings you over here, Ailyn?"

"We believe we have tracked the werewolf. Luz tracked him down to the pine forest in central park just to the north of Old Valentine. She used some mysterious blood she acquired from Officer Robert this morning. Just to be sure I looked into it and there seems to be bloody vegetation near the Prospector's Death mines next to the forest."

Sara nodded, "What's our plan? Me, you and Luz can track it down ourselves."

Ailyn knew she was one person short, "What about Geiney?"

"What about him?" She spat.

"Sara." Ailyn's tone became like that of a parent warning a child not to do something, "What happened this morning?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Sara stood and Ailyn stepped to the side, blocking her only way out of her desk space and her only chance of escape.

"Why is Geiney not at home?" Her voice had an alarmed tone.

"Ailyn, if he's not at home then surely he's with his friends. Can't you tell? You told me last night that he was safe with friends. I bet you can track him down."

"That is not the point. Why is he not at home?" Her voice was firm and authoritative.

"I assume he took his own advice. He said he was going to go with mom and dad. I say let him."

"Sara, what's gotten into you lately? All of a sudden you turned into this angry, prideful woman. This isn't you."

"What do you mean it's not me? I had the same attitude when we were under the tutelage of our parents' boot camp."

"No. Back then you were trying to keep Luz safe. Your attitude was different, you were an analyst back them. Now all you wanna do is kill any demon that moves. After talking with Luz this morning, it seems that she had a point. You are forgetting something important."

"And what is it that I'm forgetting, pray tell?"

"For one, what this thing is." Ailyn tapped Sara just above her heart. "You also seem to have forgotten the most basic law of Wiccan Creed."

"What? That the solstice is upon us?" She mocked.

"Do what ye want and harm none." Sara flinched. "You were going to attack an innocent were person last night. Your actions are proving reckless. You need to go back to what you were taught before someone ends up hurt. God forbid an innocent die because of your actions."

Sara scoffed, "I don't have time to listen to this. I have to get back to work on the banquet for tonight. Don't try to call me tonight. It's a very important meeting." Sara shoved past Ailyn and left in a hurry out of her office.

Ailyn screamed into her hands and threw punches at the air to calm her anger down. "Why do you always hide behind your work? What are you afraid of, Sara? Have you forgotten who your family is?" With nothing else to do she orbed out of the office home. Maybe she could try talking with her once she calmed down, but for now Sara was on the top of her shit list.


	20. A Brewing Storm

Veketh stood in awe as Marina, one of the Three Generals of the Demon Fists, shimmered before him with a powerful partner at her side, his hand creating an aura preventing him from leaving.

"Donavihk, make sure our friend doesn't escape." Marina guided her final Guardian as she slowly stalked towards Veketh, "You know I intended for you to work with the Roseblood Gang for at least a few moments. Unfortunately, it seems that kid tore you guys apart before my plan could work."

Veketh clicked his tongue, "You didn't know he was on the field?"

Marina looked away, "I didn't expect he'd lead a crusade. Now Vake's breathing down my neck to take them down."

"Vake?" Veketh closed his eyes, "Your partner?"

"One of them," Marina gave Veketh a wide grin, "I've come with an offer. That curse you want broken is still around after all."

Veketh instinctively reached for his blade. To his dismay, Donavihk began spinning it around, his fingers clasping the end and tossing it into the air, "Too slow."

"What do you want from me!?" Veketh felt uneasy; his Blades were dead, his forces were dead or scattered. He had lost everything before the fight really even started.

Marina whisked the blade through the air and held it in front of her, "I have a plan to revive the seventh member. Without him, even if you take those three down, you'll never reverse the spell that haunts you so."

Veketh's raised eyebrows furrowed, "That doesn't answer anything."

"I'll release the three you've killed… and revitalize the others. In return, I'll give you the resources you need to wage war on them and the siblings. Sound like a plan?" Marina's taunting voice got a rise out of Veketh, "Alternatively, I'll kill you and release them without your presence."

"If I mean that little to you, then why keep me around?" Veketh knew she'd kill him without a sweat at the current moment.

Marina placed a hand to her side, "I'm not taking this job for our client's success. I took it because I like to have fun. Demons lately have been slacking; growing ever weaker. Once the balance of power begins to shift to the Old Lords, humans will truly know fear."

Veketh recognized the wording there. The Old Lords were said to be seven supremely powerful magical monstrosities; humans and demons with power beyond anything the world had seen in ages. The Source was one such force; the other six had long been sealed away.

Donavihk sounded surprised as well, "Bringing them back would have grand ramifications on the mortal, demon, and heavenly planes. You can't plan to join them."

"I just want to watch the world adjust." Marina's icy tone froze Donavihk still, "The world has seen many ages come and go. Humans have too much complacency. Without struggle, how can they achieve greater heights?"

"You don't care about the grand order of the natural world. You just watch individuals like a show," Donavihk's biting words bring her back to their conversation; "My men are dead because of you."

Marina turned and held out a hand. Donavihk's body tightened up, an invisible force coming down upon him, "Demons like them can be returned to life with ease. Summon them back if you really want. They're not useful to us anymore."

Donavihk resisted her powers, "Just because they're not interesting to you doesn't mean their lives are worthless!"

"That's a matter of opinion…" Marina let Donavihk fall to his knees, "Veketh, you have a choice. You can take this opportunity to complete your mission and earn my blessing. Alternatively, you can accept your death and hope to come back one day."

Veketh grimaced, "There's no choice there. I'll fight according to your wishes. Should you betray me, I'll kill you."

Marina chuckled, "Perfect. The first stop is Barath's base. The old mansion on the outskirts of town will make an excellent first battle of this war of ours."

"War?" Veketh's blood chilled. She was trying to initiate a war out of sheer curiosity? What had the world done to deserve such a monstrously fickle creature?

…

Silas was continuing his masquerade as a security guard well until a certain demon appeared. A beautiful blonde woman in red heels, a green skirt, yellow blouse, and ruby red lipstick sauntered to the front of Abstraks.

"Excuse me; do you have a visitor's pass? I don't recognize you as an employee." Silas did his best to follow protocol but he could tell she wasn't human.

The woman smiled, "The name is Lily, darling. I'm not here for Abstraks. I want you!"

Her sickly sweet tone caught Silas unaware, "I'm just a guard here, madam. I'm not allowed to leave the premises. If you have no business here, you'll have to leave."

"Do you know how many of them I could kill?" Lily's sharp tone gave Silas goose bumps, "I've already met someone who used to have ties here. He gave me some invaluable information about the business."

"Is that a threat?" Silas wondered if he could stop her by force. He wasn't much of a fighter; Raviel had taught him most problems could be solved otherwise.

Lily pulled a card out of the blue handbag she was carrying, "This is where my partner wants to meet you. Failure to comply will result in the death of that young friend of yours."

Silas's eyes widened, "I won't let you get away with that." Beginning to gather the magical energy in his body, Silas prepared to restrain the demon before him.

"Jude, what's going on?" The voice that called out to him was none other than Eva Scott, carrying a suitcase in her hands, "Who's this?"

Lily smiled, "Oh, that's the girl no one likes."

Eva's eyes narrow, "Excuse you?"

"I can see why. You're not pretty enough to be a trophy wife like that fiancé of the boss's so you make up for it by playing up your bitchiness. Bold strategy, I like it." Lily's harsh words cut deeply, "Maybe your dad will apologize for the complex he gave you."

"That's enough," Silas pressed himself in between the two, "I don't care who you think you are. Get off the premises or be removed."

Lily's smile never wavered, "I'm just saying what everyone thinks. Have a fantastic day."

As the demon leaves the other two behind, Eva glared at the back of the woman who just sullied her good mood at having bought new clothes, "No one likes me? That's not true, right?"

Silas, still giving Lily daggers from afar, bluntly replied, "Calling people hags all the time and starting drama like you do isn't the best way to make friends. It wouldn't kill you to be nicer."

"That's because they don't respect me! I worked hard to get here!"

"And you're the only one?" Silas walked past her without another word, leaving Eva to look down at the suitcase with the new outfit she had gotten.

The night of the banquet had finally arrived. Jack stood next to his childhood friend Patrick, admiring the elegantly-dressed guests that mingled around the banquet room. He had to admit it; the gossiping group really did know how to arrange a room professionally. Albeit there were one too many streamers for his liking, but the guests didn't seem to complain. The room was perfect. That was all Jack needed to see.

"Well, my dear President." Patrick spoke up, breaking the trance Jack had around the room. Patrick wore a crisp gray suit with a white collared shirt. His blue tie only added to his professionalism. He had a white rose with its green stem attached to one of the corners of his matching vest. A blue handkerchief with one of the corners pointed upwards on his breast-pocket matched his suit accordingly.

"Yes, my dear Vice President?" He replied. Jack wore the same suit as Patrick except his color pallet was red instead of blue and he had no decoration pinned to his suit. His handkerchief was folded neatly in a pocket square.

"Do your gossiping girls know how to decorate a room or what? Oh, and look," He pointed to a couple of ladies with bright smiles and sparkling matching light pink dresses. The dresses had pink sequins stitched into the seams of the whole dress and a belt of white and pink sequins around their waist. The dresses were tied on their back and their white high heels spoke of the elegance the two ladies seemed to exude. "There's our lovely hosts; beautiful, enchanting, and worth every dime, sweat and tears and our hearts. Our beautiful future wives. The only people who could control us."

"Is that so?" Jack laughed, and then pinched Patrick on the arm.

"Get serious, Patrick. This is one of the most important events we've had in a long time."

"And there you go again. You're so tense that it is remarkable that you can even move." Jack crossed his arms over his chest and to prove his point Patrick put an arm around his friend and squeezed his body.

"What are you doing?"

"You see? You are so tense all I could feel was a giant paper weight next to me. Relax, Mr. President. Have a drink," He called over the nearest waiter with cocktail drinks and grabbed a couple, "Here. Drink this and enjoy the festivities. Just because it's a formal banquet doesn't mean you can't have fun."

Patrick watched as the hosts of the evening, his fiancé Alicia and Rachel, approached them. Patrick went on ahead bidding Jack on another drink and walking next to the two ladies. Jack waved to his fiancé and turned back to the stage. Soft music played filling the room while guests conversed.

Patrick had a point; he really needed to loosen up. Since he took over the company for his father, he felt like he had disappointed him in everything he did. Sales were down, profits were down and Abstraks seemed to be giving free money away somewhere since the books never seemed to line up with his fathers' records.

Jack downed the drink and made a face; he hated the taste of dry vermouth. Despite that, he grabbed another drink and downed that as well. The drink felt warm as it went down his throat. Hopefully it would be enough to "loosen up". Ever since he took over the company he felt uneasy.

He realized he couldn't do what his father did. He didn't have the skill his father had. But then again, his father worked from morning to late evening every day for years. His father neglected to take care of himself and ended up sick. The sickness slowly took over his body until he passed away. His successor was Katherine, his wife.

Jack would have loved for his father to have presented the company to him. To work alongside him in the presidency until he was ready to take over. The news hit everyone hard, but not as hard as Jack and his mother. The death came unexpectedly. At first it was believed to have been his sickness, but it turned out to have been a heart attack due to the stress he had been dealing with at work.

Katherine had no association with Abstraks. She wasn't a woman who was used to dealing with business. And while she was named successor, she had legality and passed on the company to her son Jack. Jack had experience in Abstraks which helped him accommodate himself to the presidency, but not enough to know what he was doing. He brought in Patrick to help him out and together they faced their biggest ordeal; keeping Abstraks off the ground. And he hoped with this commercial, he could sleep easier at night knowing Abstraks was in good hands.

"Jack McAllister! How wonderful to finally meet you, darling!" A lady with a silver dress covered in bedazzled jewels and the most beautiful, porcelain face he had ever seen approached him.

"You must be Angela D'alto. The esteemed and worldly renowned fashion model, entrepreneur, also the founder and owner of the HealthyLife beauty company."

"Oh, you do your research. I can already tell this will be a fruitful partnership, Mr. McAllister." Her voice was crisp and clear, authoritative and direct. Her pronunciation of every syllable could be dictated into the pages themselves.

Maybe chatting with the clients would take his mind off his own personal issues. Before that though, he needed to have a drink with his clients out of respect. It was a tradition his father held and one he was willing to continue.

Barath stepped back from the caged beast, the growling werewolf sending shivers down his spine, "The Rosebloods get a call from the boss and I'm left to watch the hunting dog. This is just great."

Glancing at the nameplate, Barath notes the dog's name; Volmir. The boss, Marina, called the three Rosebloods in to receive a boon of some kind. Meanwhile, Barath was watching over the mansion alone.

His own plan had just begun. He had sent an expendable minion out to lure that young punk here. Once he arrived, the Rosebloods would tear him down. Then he'd sick them on the witches and Veketh if he appeared.

A dark portal appeared behind him and Barath turned. To his surprise, out stepped not three but six hooded figures.

The first lowered theirs. Varland looked unchanged to him. His calm tone soothed Barath's concerns, "Marina found the Roseblade and freed the others. More importantly, she returned our youth."

The second revealed themselves. The young man Barath barely recognized, "Jebediah the Hunter, reporting for duty."

"What do you mean?" Barath asked the others.

Marina shimmered in behind them, "They have all been given their own assignments. Correct?"

One by one, the others lowered their hoods. Miria resembled her older self, her hair lush and her wrinkles gone, "Miria the Witch."

The next to lower his hood was a much more casual fellow, his light brown mustache matching his short hair, sideburns lining his wide face, "Arvic the Gambler."

"Darren the Rash," The guy who spoke with a gravelly tone had a cigarette in his mouth, his bright blue eyes contrasting the cuts and scars lining his face, "You're lucky I bothered to present myself here."

Arvic patted Darren's shoulder, "Trapped in that blade for years and rushing to your next death already?"

Darren glowered at his partner, "Need I remind you who died first?"

"I'm not a fighter, though. I'm an artist, a troublemaker." Arvic pressed his hands to his chest, "I didn't join this gang for glory and fame like you."

The last newcomer lowered her hood, her long black hair and fierce green eyes taking Barath aback, "Money is what drives you, greed fiend."

"Calm down, Ariel," Jebediah intervened, "We'll get the battles you want so dearly soon."

Barath faced Marina, "You revived them? Is that wastrel Veketh dead already?"

"Of course not," Marina sounded offended, "His story is far from over."

Barath turned to order his new allies, "Then find him and hunt him down!"

"We don't work for you," Arvic's dismissal made Barath's blood boil; "We were partners. At the current time, we don't particularly need you anymore."

Jebediah concurred, "Instead, we're using your base as a trap. Arvic, Darren, Ariel, and I are hanging back. Miria and Varland have separate missions to oversee."

"My research isn't complete you know!?" Barath exclaimed loudly, "I'll still need protection!"

"That's why I'm staying, fool," Jebediah bristled at Barath's attitude, "That kid is coming here. It's my duty to take him out."

Marina grinned as she watched over their conversation, "I would refrain from underestimating your opponents. Death is for the fools who make such mistakes."

Varland laughed without control, "Whatever you say. I have my orders. Hopefully, I'll see you all again."

Varland shimmered out and Miria followed soon after.

"What will you three be doing then?" Barath inquired the revived demons.

Ariel stretched her body out, "Killing those siblings where they stand."

Arvic shook his head, "Recon first. Rushing in isn't my thing."

"I'll kill you myself," Darren angrily warned his ally.

Barath felt his chances of survival drying up and turned to his hunting beast. At least Volmir obeyed without question.

"Troy, this is absolutely magnificent!" Sara had finished her drink and placed her and Troy's used glasses on a tray that a well-groomed host carried in his open palm.

"Yes, darling! I couldn't have done it better myself. I absolutely love what they did to the place." Troy was dressed in a comfortable white suit with a line of white and black running on the sides of his pants and suit. The uniform went complete with his white Oxford dress shoes. He had his hair combed to the side and a part on the left side of his face, bringing down a slight bang over his forehead. His hair seemed to shine in the light a void-black color.

"The guests seem to be having a good time, too. Don't they?" As if on cue, Alicia made a group of people laugh. From where they stood a lady gushed, "Oh, Alicia. You are so enchanting!"

"Oh, but the sour-puss of your boss looks down." He pointed to where Jack stood, who seemed to be lost in thought. He spotted Angela D'alto, the owner of the HealthyLife company some distance away chatting with other businessmen and women. She wore an elegant white dress that almost resembled a toga. Troy imagined her as a Greek goddess; he gave a little sigh at his personal image of her beauty.

"He's not going to smile until he knows the night is successful." Sara knew Jack already, and this is exactly what he would do every time they had a banquet. Jack was harder on himself than he was on any employee in his company. This was one of the qualities she loved about him, but it did seem to put him in a funk sometimes.

Sara knew what Jack was contemplating. Contrary to his own personal belief, Sara should honestly tell him that he was a good boss and an excellent businessman. The man didn't give himself much credit when it came to the company. But she saw it every time they sat down with a client and went over business plans. While the company may not currently be as successful as in his father's golden years, Sara knew in her heart that Jack would surpass his father sooner rather than later.

"He will be alright with a couple drinks. Maybe if he mingled a bit more he could relax. Come on, Sara. Let's go prepare the stage to announce the commercial."

When they turned around their smile completely faded and they were suddenly surrounded by a haunting aura. Eva stood not too far away in the most interesting getup they had ever seen her in. Sara almost didn't recognize Eva and every detail about her was interesting…

Her black tulle dress resembled something similar to simple wedding dresses, except it looked rather ominous; like seeing her was a bad omen. The dress exposed her shoulders and the tulle veil exposed her arms. Gray buttons with black rims lined up her front, and upon closer inspection the buttons had little images of skulls in the center. Her bottom was just a black mini skirt that looked as if it attached to the top itself. There was a thin veil of black material running down her thighs and down to her ankles, resembling tendrils of darkness. Her black knee high boots added an extra mystique to her dress, like some kind of T.V monster hunter. But it was the face that surprised Sara the most.

Eva was covered in dark makeup. She wore heavy eye liner and dark circles underneath her eyes as if she were a gothic teen girl performing dark rituals. Her eyebrows were done uniform with a thin curl upwards on the outside of her eye. Her face was powdered in white makeup and black lipstick. Her only sign of life was the half-annoyed half-uncomfortable look she had. It looked like someone trying to fit in when they really shouldn't have bothered. Or rather it looked like she decided to dress as a modern day grim reaper.

"Oh, Darling! What have you done to your face!?" Troy exclaimed. Sara elbowed him and he backtracked, "I mean… you look—well, that—it's just not you, honey. I'm sorry, but what were you trying to do?" He covered his mouth with his hand.

Eva pouted, but that made her look like she was about to murder someone with the makeup. Sara didn't know how she felt about the dress. She wanted to laugh, but at the same time she felt like she was staring into a demon.

"I was just following your fashion!" She sobbed; then realizing how much makeup she had, she ended up hyperventilating to keep herself from leaking tears and fanning her face trying to dry her eyes.

"No, Eva. You just took two different styles and Frankenstein'd them together."

Eva started gasping louder like a fish out of water. No doubt this caught the attention of some of the guests in the room. Thankfully it was only the guests nearby that were watching the commotion some distance away. The music playing in the background helped drown out Eva's pitiful cries.

"Troy!" Sara glared, looking around to see some eyes on them. She hoped Troy wouldn't end up making this worse or her.

"I was told that you made this whole new style of punk that was all the rage these days. And I tried to follow your advice, but what did I do wrong? Troy, help me."

"I don't know what you want me to do…" He embraced her, patting her back to comfort her, "Like, you did everything wrong." He admitted. Eva stopped crying to pull away and death glare at Troy.

"Like what!?" She said through gritted teeth.

Sara face palmed; she felt Troy was digging himself into a grave.

"Honey, you look like you're about to go to a funeral; your own funeral. And the makeup isn't punk rock, that's more Goth than anything. Just the dress would've been fine. But we are at a formal event, darling. Not the best choice to wear tonight. Not that you would have pulled it off in the first place."

"Troy…" She gripped his collar and pulled him really close to her face, "Then why don't you fix it!? Or so help me I will end you." She hissed.

Sara managed to separate the two, "Troy, why don't I take her out so I can help?"

"Get your filthy hands off me. I can do it myself just fine." She stepped away to compose herself, "I can do this myself with my dignity intact." She put a hand to her hip, and now she looked like a Goth version of Cruella De Vil.

"Eva, you haven't had dignity since you put on that dress. Why don't you go into the rehearsal room and pick out a dress for yourself? I've got a new shipment of pretty dresses you can change into. Also, lots of makeup removal. You're gonna need a box of wipes to remove that colorful face."

Eva had never felt so insulted in her entire life, "Forget it, I'm going home! Oh, and Troy, I better not see your face here again!" She left the room in a hurry, muttering curses at Troy, at fashion, and at Sara's "sister". Sara deduced it was probably Ailyn, whom she had to have a talk with later.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked her.

"Just a little much is all." She patted him on the back.

He shrugged, "Come on. Let's go start the show!" Unfazed, he trotted over to the stage. Sara took one more look at the door where Eva walked off and blew a bang out of her face. Hopefully Eva wouldn't make another scene. She was lucky not many people were watching. She would hate to think what would happen if the business made a bad impression…

Luke walked slowly as he had located his next target; a low-tier demon wandering the streets. He had been following him for a while now. Such trash was beneath him. Killing them brought him no respite from the voices in his head.

His mother had assumed the worst; that he had attempted self-harm for reasons more human. Luke had tried to explain but when authorities arrived to take him in, he had left without a word. How could he face her now?

Hell, he could just fight the police off. Who cares?

The face of his father haunting him, Luke rounded the corner and moved on the demon's position.

Instead of finding the demon he was pursuing, Luke faced off against two hooded figures and a smiling man. The demon he had been tracking lay at his feet, "Excellent work for a grunt." The leader spoke, the red lines on his face hinting to Luke his true identity.

"The Roseblood Gang is out and about this early?" Luke's normally sarcastic tone failed to deliver, "All for me?"

Jebediah didn't find this amusing in the slightest, "I just regained my youth and thought it wise to challenge you. Our boss is quite sick of you running through our resources like this."

Luke glanced over to his two allies, "They're members too?"

"Naw, they ain't. Lai and Muwl are just Marina's hired hands." The duo lowered their hoods. Lai was gaunt and frail-looking; daggers rested in either hand. Red lines marked his weary eyes. Muwl was more intimidating, his broad body and thick neck adding to his appearance, the rough skin coating his face a testament to his skills.

Muwl's gruff voice rose from his throat, "You killed Donavihk's crew. Of course he'd send retribution."

Luke tilted his head, "Is he one of those bosses that never fights for himself?"

Muwl's eyes widen as his anger takes hold. Muwl lunged forward, fire erupting from his hands as he slammed into the ground where Luke just was.

Luke isn't quick enough to notice Lai striking downwards with the daggers in his possession. Luke twirled in midair, narrowly dodging Lai's attack and thrusting his own Athame into Lai's neck.

Lai attempted to wrestle away but Luke's blade pierced too deep; Lai fades away into Luke's body as Muwl charged forward, landing his fiery fists into Luke's spine.

"Gotcha!" Muwl struck twice more with his flaming fists, Luke falling to the ground and nearly dropping his blade.

As Muwl prepared the final blow, a stray attack knocked Muwl back. Muwl growled in anger as he realized the attacker was none other than Veketh, "You!?"

Veketh focused on Jebediah, "You're back in action, I take it."

"The man who's chased us for years is really still alive? Marina wasn't joking, then." Jebediah faded into darkness before dropping down next to Muwl, "You intend to stand and die here?"

"The war Marina seeks begins today." Veketh's words ring a bell for Jebediah, "She left me alive because she wants us to fight. I'm just obeying her wishes, if anything."

Jebediah begins laughing from the gut, his eyes tearing up, "You can't be serious!? You think you can oppose me!?"

Muwl lunged for Veketh, ignoring Luke on the ground. Luke rose from the dirt and charged at Muwl from the side, the blade plunging into Muwl's chest. Muwl shouted once in agony before collapsing and fading.

"That's the help I get?" Jebediah shrugged, "Less to pay later, I guess. Now I sound like Arvic."

Luke glared at Veketh, "You're still after them? Your team is dead, your pride is gone. What gives you the strength?"

"I could say the same of the man who killed his father," Veketh had been told by Marina the circumstances guiding Luke, "Throwing your life away in fight after fight is what you're doing."

"That's…" Luke focused instead on Jebediah, "So the rest of your team is alive? All seven of you?"

Jebediah held his hands out to increase the grandiosity of the moment, "Alas, our leader was not taken by the Roseblade. Such, we are still incomplete. We mourn his loss, but we will accomplish his goals without him!"

Veketh stood back, "Kid, I'll give him everything I've got. Are you in?"

"Working with the one who wiped your team out? Your crusade against us must end someday, Veketh." Jebediah's taunting strikes a nerve this time.

"On your deathbeds it will!" Veketh's body glowed as his energy began to coalesce into his fingertips, "Jebediah's a strong opponent, but we can beat him!"

Luke decided to trust Veketh only once and lunged forward, his momentum carrying his whole arm at Jebediah's torso. Jebediah quickly raised a shield which knocked Luke back.

"That won't work on an experienced demon like myself," Jebediah's taunts had fallen away to a more serious disposition, "This isn't like before!"

Luke rose to his feet, "If what it takes is a massive amount of force…" A plan formed in Luke's mind and he reached into his pocket. With a quick hand movement, Luke raised his Athame to eye level, "One stab of this and it's over for you."

Jebediah's eyes honed in, "If you absorb my life essence, you can't undo the curse. Do you want that?"

"I can't beat you otherwise," Luke turned to his temporary partner, "Transfer your power to me now."

Veketh gave Luke a suspicious look, "Why?"

Luke pointed at Jebediah, "I need to break that shield."

"…As you wish." Veketh placed his hand on Luke's chest and forced his power over.

Jebediah jumped forward, launching Veketh with a strong kick. Veketh crashed against a nearby building and crumpled to the ground. "I won't just watch, you stupid fool."

"That's fine…" Luke coated himself in all of the energy his body could muster and flew at Jebediah with ramming speed.

Jebediah lifted his shield just in time to block Luke's body. However, Luke had channeled most of his energy into his outstretched arm and forced the blade through Jebediah's shield, the knife plunging into Jebediah's heart.

A horrific scream erupted from Jebediah's throat and in his anger; he hit Luke full force with an explosion of magical energy, the young man being knocked flat. As the lines in Jebediah's face began to recede, Veketh realized what Luke had done.

Veketh jumped up and plunged the Roseblade Marina had returned to him straight into Jebediah's head. The demon thrashed twice more before collapsing and being consumed by the blade.

Jebediah finally disappeared wholly and the Roseblade flashed several times as a small notch on the hilt, one of seven, glowed red.

"That's one…" Veketh sighed in relief. As he noticed Luke struggling to breath, leaning himself against the wall, Veketh smirked, "I could help but… It's better I end our partnership here. You do understand, yes?"

Luke watched Veketh shimmer away without a word. He wanted to respond but his energy was wholly spent. Luke couldn't even get to his feet.

As Raviel's energy began to coat his body, Luke thanked his lost friend for his powers.

"So that's why I came here…" Geiney wiped the tears with his sleeve. Jasper lay down on Geiney's lap, giving him some comfort in the whole situation. Geiney was at his parents' home. He had walked the distance to see if they would take him in after his fight with Sara. He just couldn't take living there anymore. He wanted to be away from that, his negativity getting the better of him.

Mia wore a flower blouse that reached down to her knees. She was leaned forwards, her bangles jingling every time her wrist moved. She looked disheartened to see her son look like this.

"Oh, honey. It's okay." She walked over and gave him a hug, Jasper jumped down to leave them to their embrace.

"We will be more than happy to take you in. Isn't that right, Josh?"

The man behind her beamed, "Of course we will." He was standing behind the loveseat where Mia sat. He wore a green turtleneck vest almost looking like father figure from a 90's T.V show.

"Thank you." Geiney said it so weakly, Mia could tell this really brought Geiney down. But she understood how he felt. He didn't feel comfortable living there anymore, especially since Sara seemed to be unsympathetic to the world around them. But this was something she feared would happen; just like when the girls ran away from home, Geiney now ran away from the only home he has ever known.

She hoped to the heavens this wouldn't repeat itself. But her fears had come true. She would love to take Geiney in. Her heart filled with joy at the thought of having Geiney over. She lost her three children once before, and even getting one now may heal her broken heart.

"Come on, bud. I'll show you to your room." Josh gestured over. Geiney allowed Jasper to walk along first while Geiney grabbed his stuff.

"I'll prepare you something to eat." Mia warmly patted Geiney over the head as he passed her. When they were gone upstairs Mia sighed. "Luz, Sara. What's going on?"

She walked over to the kitchen and pulled out some ground beef. As she prepared and seasoned two tennis-ball sized balls of meat, she thought of her children's situation.

This definitely wasn't the Sara that they knew. Something had changed her. Or someone. Mia shook the thought away. No, this had to be of Sara's own mindset. Back when their children were in the school, Sara was always trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy. No matter the demon, she tried to plan and execute a solution around the demon's agenda.

Even in a fight she tried strategies to throw demons off guard; to tip the scales of the fight in their favor. Back then she and Luz fought as one. They fought as a team supporting each other's weaknesses. They would pick each other up no matter the situation.

But Sara wasn't taught every magical creature was evil. Not all of them were evil. In the case of the were-people, they were actually guardians chosen to guard the realm of the half breeds. Back then, a half breed was an abomination and anyone caught with such a creature was executed; parent and child.

Skip a few thousand years and it was more accepted. The half breeds were unique creatures. A half breed looked completely human with the ability to change forms resembling the animal their bloodlines carried. These creatures were chosen to be guardians because of their ability to look human. What better way to guard something when there were agents all around protecting the gates to their homes?

Still, like humans some chose a bad path, but that didn't make all of them evil. Maybe Sara was forgetting something about their lineage… The thought lingered. Sara wasn't following the Wiccan creed. Did she forget or did she choose not to follow it? In any case, maybe a little chat with Sara could help everyone out… or make the situation worse.

What's worse is that she couldn't understand her daughter in order for her to be of some help. All she received was Geiney's side of the story. She needed to hear Luz's and Sara's side of the story.

She patted the balls until they were even patties. She pulled a pan out and turned on the stove, placing the pan on the fire. She added a small amount of oil on the stove and moved the oil around the pan to spread it evenly.

While she waited, she suddenly remembered Sara becoming aggressive when she was younger. She took her time trying to remember how everything originated. When she added the patty to the hot pan she remembered. Everything Geiney talked about she had already seen once before.

Sara, in order to keep her little sister safe, would often suppress her emotions. If Luz was scared, Sara could not show fear. She tried to stay hard to show Luz she could protect them no matter what. But that fear, the stress of it all, and the anger that she felt, all build up like someone shaking a soda can. The first time it happened Sara's powers started changing, acting up. At first they thought her powers were advancing until she couldn't control them anymore.

She remembered that day well. In her anger, she fought a demon. Luz was to throw the vanquishing potion at the right time. However, the demon made an energy ball and in a panic Luz threw the potion. Sara, at the same time kicked the hand away. The potion hit the energy ball and blew the entire room apart. Both girls nearly died that day had it not been for a nearby Whitelighter who had heard the explosion.

It was that same day that Mia realized that Sara had been suppressing emotions. From there Mia had started teaching the girls how to channel their emotions into something else. With Luz, she played in the forest, keeping to herself. With Sara, she attacked a punching bag.

Whatever was going on with Sara had to do with her emotions. Sara was keeping things to herself again, bottling the emotions until they burst. But why haven't they burst yet?

Mia flipped the patty and then realized the answer. Sara hadn't exploded yet because she was taking her anger out on her siblings. It may just be enough so that she doesn't explode, but that would explain why she was so irrational. And she was irrational because she needed an outlet to take her anger out.

She knew what she needed to do. She just needed to talk to Josh first and then talk to Sara. Or at least have the siblings together with them overseeing everything. Sara probably wasn't aware of what she was doing, but an intervention might help. From there, Sara can get the help she needs. Until then, Geiney could stay here for as long as he needed. Mia had a sliver of hope that he could stay for a while. She missed having her children in her life…

After Geiney ate a nice hot meal, Josh and Mia sat down next to him in the kitchen.

"The food was delicious. Thank you." Geiney was genuinely thankful, but the bout with his sister really brought him down. Mia held Geiney's hand and squeezed it, providing a bit of comfort for the sad boy.

"You can stay with us for as long as you need to. We would love to have you here. Be it days or weeks. Or years."

Geiney smiled, "Thank you." There was a pause while he gathered his thoughts, "Sometimes I just wish Sara wouldn't treat me like a kid anymore. But no matter how many times I tell her she doesn't want to listen. Not even when it comes to magic." The boy looked at his hands, feeling the power of wind inside him.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't a witch." His hands fell to his lap lying limp. Mia thought about his comment, and if they couldn't talk to Sara, then stripping Geiney of his powers was an alternative.

Another pause. Mia and Josh stared at each other. Josh gave her a nod towards Geiney and patted Mia on the shoulder.

"There is, uh, a way to get that resolved, you know." She spoke.

Geiney snapped his head up, "Really? How?"

Mia opened her mouth but then closed it, not wanting to say it. She did want to have another option for Geiney, but didn't want to make him feel obligated to give up his powers. She looked to Josh for support, and cornered, he cleared his throat.

"By relinquishing your powers."

The air seemed to have gotten colder, Geiney definitely wasn't expecting that answer.

"But, then I wouldn't be a witch anymore." He said it more to himself than an actual question.

"We will still take you in. Witch or not. We will love you no matter what happens or what you decide." Josh continued.

"How is the spell done?" Geiney looked at the floor, contemplating everything he was being told. Truth be told, he was truly contemplating giving up his powers. He could have a demon free existence and live a normal life.

"It is better in the light of a full moon." Mia turned to look at the calendar on the wall behind her, "Tomorrow night. During this time you will be surrounded in a circle of salt and four crystals. You will say, 'I relinquish my powers in the name of the diamond' three times. Then one of us will hold a device that looks like a cage. Your powers will be trapped in that cage and we can have Ailyn take it to the elders. That way no demon will be able to have your power. You will be completely normal."

Geiney nodded, his eyes lost in thought. "I have until tomorrow night to decide?"

"I know its short notice, but yes. We can have everything ready just in case. And remember, we will love you no matter what you decide."

Another nod from Geiney, his expression lost to his own thoughts. This was something Geiney couldn't take lightly. He needed to decide what he wanted. On one hand, he could keep his powers and continue his duties as a witch. On the other, he had the chance to finally act like a normal child. It was the opportunity to feel safe in his bedroom without the fear of demons attacking him every so often. Either way his parents would love him no matter what he chose.

But, the fact that he liked best was that if that was true, he could keep away from his sister. This way he could have a normal life and stay away from demons. His sisters were more than capable of doing this by themselves. Besides, Sara seemed to believe they could do it by themselves so why not? The more he thought of relinquishing his powers, the more he liked the idea.

Ailyn had sensed a powerful magical disturbance in the city and this had drawn her to the alleyway where she found Luke covered in wounds and a slight amount of energy.

"Luke? What happened!?" Ailyn rushed to his side and began using her healing magic, thankful that it still worked at all on the young man.

Luke was unable to look her in the eye, "I… That is…" Wrestling over what to say, Luke decided confessing would be the best route to take, "I accidentally… cursed my father."

Ailyn paused her healing, "What?"

"The guy who did this to me… Jebediah was a member of the Roseblood Gang. Ever hear of them?" Ailyn was unable to answer Luke's question quickly, so he spoke again, "I was cursed with this blood. It consumes and maddens demons that take it and kills humans. In fact, it's put into them so they can harvest the plants that grow. I healed my dad, but the energy from the blood inside me infected him… My dad's gone."

"A curse that kills humans?" Ailyn remembered hearing stories of curses and spells like that. She didn't know just energy tainted with it would be enough to be fatal. "We need to get that out of you."

Luke weakly pointed to the nearby blade, "Already did with that. It has to be plunged into the heart. Good thing I'm not just human or…" Coughing up a slight amount of blood, Luke forced his body up off of the ground, "The seven members of the gang have to be killed with a specific blade. If we can manage that… We can reverse the curse."

Ailyn held Luke in place, "Don't move too much, I'm not done."

"I killed someone." Luke's delivery and tone inspired fear in Ailyn's heart. His eyes told her more than words alone could, "I accidentally… I didn't want Sara to be right. I wanted to help. I wanted to heal my dad and be of use for once!" As his emotions fluctuated, so too did the power surrounding him, "All I'm good for is causing death."

"That's not true. If you had good intentions, you can… We can do something to help you," Ailyn was wracking her mind to try and explain this one to Sandra. The ramifications could be immense!

Luke stepped away from Ailyn, "Good intentions lead to hell, you know. I'm… heading to the headquarters of the gang. If I get killed, at least I can say I tried."

Ailyn reached out, "Don't go! We can fix this! We can remove your powers and have Geiney and his sisters handle this."

"If I believed they could handle all the world's problems themselves, I'd have given my powers up when I got them," Luke's dour expression reminded Ailyn of someone. His next words broke the camel's back, "If what I'm doing is wrong but saves lives, even at the cost of the lives of the wicked, there is no doubt it was good."

Luke continued onwards in the direction of Veketh's base, hoping to find answers as to the war Jebediah had mentioned and to give Veketh his comeuppance once and for all.

Ailyn wanted to follow but found herself rooted in place, a tear running down her left cheek. Memories of her past life resurfaced and so she watched Geiney's friend face the Reaper with a hopeless goal; one she knew all too well.

She had to get the siblings at once. Without a word, she orbed out of the lonely street she had found herself on, never knowing the figure of a woman watching from a nearby rooftop.

The commercial aired on their silver screen and the applause was all Troy needed to hear to run on stage and start thanking as many people as he could fit in his little speech. Sara rolled her eyes but she loved that man, no matter how annoying he could be or how bossy he acted sometimes. He got the job done and it pleased any client.

Sara watched from backstage and was about to walk up when she heard her cell ringing. It was from home.

"Hello?" She placed the phone on one ear and covered her ear with the other.

"Sara, we need you home. Ailyn sensed a power shifting and she's gone to investigate. We need to kill this beast before it kills someone else. Tomorrow's a full moon and the night before is when they start to 'excite.' We don't need any more innocents to die."

"Fine. I'm on my way. But, all my bosses are here. Don't expect me to leave quickly."

"Whatever you need to do. Just get here ASAP."

Sara hung up the phone and steeled herself to get scolded by her bosses to leave early on such an important night.

"First up is Troy." She walked up to him and as soon as he saw her, shook the hand of one of the other executives and turned to Sara.

"My god, darling. This night has been a success! Do remind me to personally thank the gossiping group for such amazing decorations."

"Yes, very good, Troy. Um, listen. I'm so sorry to do this to you, but I need to leave. There's this emergency situation at home."

Troy gasped melodramatically.

"But, you can't leave!"

"I can't?"

Troy giggled, "Of course you can, silly. You know, you don't _have_ to come to these events. I know you do it to oversee the success, but you can just leave it to us, the big bosses. You know, from the moment I saw you I saw a goldmine of potential. And it isn't until now that I see that this mine has turned into a golden star. You have been the hardest working assistant I have ever worked with and it shows with your work." He gestured to the big screen.

"So go on, girl. Go kick butt at home."

"Right, thanks, Troy."

"Anytime." He saw someone behind Sara, "I gotta go." He sidestepped Sara and raised his arms, "Martha! It's good to see you again."

Their chatter was drowned out as Sara began thinking. Did she really not need to be there? No, she definitely did need to be there. She needed to make sure the clients were happy. But didn't the bosses tell her she needed to be there? Sara spotted Jack and Patrick and trotted off in their direction.

"Hey, Jack. Can I talk to you a moment?"

"Yes, Sara. What is it?" He drank from the glass he held in his hand, casually looking around the room.

"I was wondering if I could leave early tonight. I have this emergency at home that I have to take care of."

Jack turned to Sara giving her a crossed look between a scowl and insulted.

"I mean if that's not possible, I totally understand." She awkwardly chuckled, already thinking of an emergency exit strategy.

"No, no. It's not that. I was just surprised. That's the first time in the ten years you've been with us you have ever asked to leave. I was wondering if I ever was going to hear you ask for time off. Hell, even when you were ill you still came and clocked an entire shift."

The comment shocked Sara.

"You are more than welcome to leave; we can take care of the rest. You don't _have_ to come to these events, Sara. But we're glad to have you in them because it shows clients you are proud of your work and proud of the company you work for. I have never seen someone work as hard as you. I am proud to have you in our company, Sara. But, please, if I may. Consider taking some time off for yourself."

Sara blinked. Was she hearing this, right?

"Time off?"

"I'm not saying I want you out of here." Jack shook the thought away, "I'm saying you work so much that you clock in more hours than the presidents do. I know you have a family at home, a sister and a brother you've been taking care of. Be with them. Your little brother probably isn't so little anymore, but he should still be part of your life. Don't be a workaholic like my father was. In the end, the company continues on without him. I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Go on, get your problems resolved."

"Thanks, Jack." She left without another word, as the slow realization began eating at her. Had she really been working so much to have the president himself request her to take time off? She tried to think of a memory of a time when the three of them went out. But the only memory she remembered was when Geiney was in the fourth grade and he needed new-everything for school. She stopped and gripped the door frame.

"Oh my god. I can't think of a recent memory." She felt like the air was being stolen from her lungs. "Did I really push them aside?" With shaky hands she pressed the call button for the elevator and when the doors opened, she stepped inside. When the doors closed she collapsed to the floor.

"What kind of person have I become?" The memories of the past few days hit her in a torrent. She remembered Luz and Sara's argument, Geiney defending his friends, and Ailyn's words, "This isn't you."

And then she remembered yelling at Geiney to get out. She remembered that she all but kicked him out.

"What have I done?"

Back at the Cuentas home, Sara walked in the living room, her tear-streaked face frozen in a look of total regret.

"Sara, what happened to you?" Luz stayed rooted to her spot as Sara walked in tears still streaming from her eyes.

"Luz. I need you to be honest with me. Have I changed much? Have I become the person I once despised? Have I really pushed you both away?"

"Sara, what's going on? What is this?"

"Just answer the question!" She blurted, her emotions finally being let out.

It took Luz a moment to get her bearings together before responding, "Yes. You've changed a lot, Sara. I wasn't sure if tonight was a good time to bring this up since we were going monster hunting but Geiney is gone. He went to live with our parents."

"What?" It was like being hit with a sledgehammer in the gut. She couldn't force herself to breathe.

"You really pushed him over the edge, Sara." Her voice was even; she wasn't chiding her nor was she punishing her. Luz knew that look anywhere. That painful realization when you've done something wrong. The realization where you could take back anything in the world just to prevent one event fell over her. She knew that look well. She wore it for over a year with Brandon's death. She used to stare at the mirror for the longest time after his death. Now, she was seeing a similar look on Sara.

"I-I didn't mean to. I didn't want him to leave, I was just so angry—Oh, god just what have I done?" She sat down on the couch, put her hands in her face and cried.

Luz walked over, sat herself down next to her and embraced her. She let her cry for a while, letting her drain the emotions out of her body.

"Sara. What happened for you to feel this way? Why have you returned so broken?"

"It's something Jack said."

"What did Jack say to you?"

In between blubbers, Luz was able to calm her down enough to understand what she was saying.

"Jack said that he has never seen me take time off. I work harder than him and Patrick together. I clock in more hours than they have ever done. He told me I never took a day off even when I was sick. And then I started to think of something that the three of us did as a family. The only thing I remembered was when Geiney was in the fourth grade and he needed new clothes, school supplies and a bedroom makeover." Luz thought on the same thing, and she too, couldn't think of a time that the three of them even did something as a family. They haven't gone to the movies as a family in years, nor did they travel together, not even a night for themselves here at home.

"That's not true. We have demon hunting." The comment made Sara chuckle.

"But, I couldn't even do that right. I kicked Geiney out… and now I realized why I did it."

"You were scared, weren't you?"

Sara looked up and met her sister's eyes. They seemed so warm and caring.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Sara wiped the tears from her eyes; Luz was starting to look blurry.

"When I lost Brandon, I was in the same way. I was scared for us; Geiney was still a child then. I didn't want anyone else to die because we were witches. I was lost because I didn't know what I wanted to do. And the best way that I thought of was relinquishing our powers in order to keep us safe. The way you're feeling now is the same feeling I had back then."

"But the difference is that you didn't take your anger out on your siblings."

"No, but I did push them away. Just like you did to us."

Sara sniffled. Luz grabbed a tissue from a box on the table and gave it to Sara who wiped her tears and blew her nose.

"To top it off, I told Geiney some nasty things." Sara covered her face, her face flush with regret.

"But you have the opportunity to apologize. He is only a few blocks away." She saw Sara hesitate like a puppy who didn't want to see their owner after they tore up their shoes. "Don't wait years to make up. Geiney might think it was his fault. And you know how much he beats himself up over things."

Sara knew her comment to be true, and it was better to apologize now then later. Geiney deserved an apology and an explanation at the very least.

Luz held her hand out and Sara took it…

"I don't want to see them. Besides, Sara will probably yell at me for coming here. All I did was take her advice." Geiney whined, crossing his arms over his chest. He was in his bedroom, clad in pajamas. Little wolves were drawn all over the two piece pajamas, Geiney's favorite animal.

"Sara didn't come to yell at you. She looks down. Why you don't go talk to her? If she does start yelling I'll ask her to leave, okay?"

Geiney sighed, it was a compromise. They made their way downstairs and Geiney flopped down on the couch, glaring at his oldest sister.

"What do you want? Didn't you want me to leave?" His voice was cold, something Sara expected.

"I thought you'd want to come back home. We need your help for a monster hunt."

Geiney laughed sarcastically. _Now_ they needed his help.

"Don't worry, it might be Sherry transforming again. I'll talk with her." If Geiney were a snake he would already have injected Sara with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry about that Geiney. I was just confused. This entire change in our lives has been hard on me. At first we only hunted demons when they attacked us. Then we were shielded from them. Then just recently, we got back into the hunt. I kept seeing things as a threat even though they weren't, like your friend. My mind wasn't clear and I took my confusion and anger out on you and Luz. That wasn't fair." Sara paused to keep her emotions in check but felt tears gnawing at her, "You didn't do anything wrong, because I know now that I was the one in the wrong."

Geiney wasn't expecting any of that. He looked away, not able to meet her gaze.

"What happened to us, Sara? We were a family before, but now all we do is argue. This magic has separated us." Geiney looked down at his hands.

"No, if anything it only has made us stronger. I want you to think back, Geiney. When was the last time the three of us went out and did something that didn't involve Demons?"

Geiney thought back, "We had dinner at Wong's?" He wasn't sure what she meant by memorable; any time together that wasn't about an argument was something he treasured.

"No, something memorable. Something you can look back on and tell other people because it was a special memory."

Geiney thought hard on the question. However, nothing seemed to come to mind. He stared at Sara, not sure how to respond.

"Exactly. You can't think of anything, right?"

Geiney shook his head no.

"That was also my fault. Jack reminded me that my family is important, too. Tonight I received an awakening. He told me that I punch in more hours than the president and vice president. I never knew that I was doing that. He said even when I was sick, I wouldn't take the day off."

Geiney nodded, "I know. You never did. It's why I admired you so much. You always himpushed through no matter how sick or tired you felt. You worked to support us when we were younger, when I was still just a baby. But I'm not a baby anymore, Sara. I'm growing up. I fight demons with you guys. And you treating me like that really makes me feel inadequate."

There was a moment of silence. Geiney stared at his sister for a response. Sara knew this; he was growing up and he was no longer the little boy they needed to take care of.

Sara nodded solemnly.

"I can answer why you became angry." Mia spoke up. All heads turned to her.

"I just was scared and confused and took it out on them." Sara clarified.

"Yes, that's part of the reason. But I've seen this reaction before. You did this twice before. You used to keep your emotions bottled up. The feelings you tried to hide only grew more and more until you burst. The first time you blew up, your powers were acting up. We thought your powers were growing, but you really just exploded. You powered up a kick, knocked the energy-ball out of the demons' hand, and nearly killed yourself and Luz with a potion she was trying to use."

Sara's eyes widened as she tried to recollect those memories.

"After talking I figured out what your problem was. Remember, how we started training to take your anger out on a punching bag?"

Luz realized where this was going, "So Sara's emotions were the cause of her irrationality?" She turned to her sister, "Your emotions were literally clouding your judgement."

"Yes, that makes sense now. But why hadn't my powers acted up like they did last time?"

Josh could answer that, "It's because you were taking your emotions out on your siblings. It might have been enough to keep your powers under control, but who's to say how long that might have worked. It's quite possible that later your powers would have acted up."

"Oh god. I'm a terrible person."

"No, you're not. Everything you did was just a reaction of your emotions." Geiney stood up, not wanting to see her sister beat herself up over this. He knew that feeling all too well. "I still admire you, Sara; the good, the bad and everywhere in between. Don't be angry at yourself because," he paused, his heart pounding, "I forgive you. I love you, Sara." He ran over and tackled her in a hug.

Sara cried into his hair, "I love you, too."

"And I love both my crazy siblings." Luz embraced the both of them in a hug, Geiney chuckled. The three of them embraced in a bear hug.

Josh embraced Mia, "They've grown up." He whispered in her ear.

"They've grown up to be fine people and brilliant witches." Mia walked over, dragging her husband along and embracing their children.

"And I love both my parents." Geiney exclaimed, the pile of people tightening in the embrace. Geiney thought to himself, 'This would be the perfect Kodak moment'.

That was when Ailyn orbed in. Sara barely glimpsed her before she heard a pained shout come from her that startled everyone where they stood. The panic in her voice was as plain as day. All heads turned to her as they remained connected in their embrace.

Ailyn was breathing hard, her eyes red with tears. Whatever panic overcame her was enough to shake her to her core. Just the sight of her made Luz's blood run cold.

"We'vegotasituation! Youguysneedtocomequick! It'sgettingworsebytheminuteandhe'sinterribledanger!" Ailyn seemed to have spoken just one word in her panic.

"Uh, what?" Geiney asked.

"It's Luke!" She shouted, willing herself to calm down despite the dire situation Luke was on the other side of town, "Something happened! The demon powers seemed to have broken him or something!"

Geiney stood at attention, all of a sudden fearing the worst, but Ailyn was faster and grabbed Geiney and Luz.

"Just come with me!" She urged and in her panic failed to realize everyone was still connected with one another bringing the entire Cuentas family into the orb and heading towards Old Valentine where Luke's situation only got worse.


	21. Copycat Fight

Veketh glanced down the dark and dreary corridor of the small maintenance tunnels running underneath the mansion Barath had housed himself in. _Jebediah's dead, the front guards are gone… No one's come out yet which means…_ Veketh firmly strode forward into the dim halls. _I can take out Barath and leave the Gang to those witches._

As he began to sense a presence, Veketh smelled the air and his body froze. In the dark, two glowing yellow eyes, that of a predator, honed in on him. Out from the shadows lumbered a ten-foot werewolf, the monstrous beast wearing an inappropriate tag that said 'Volmir' on it.

"Who gave him a lycanthrope!?" As Marina's grinning visage came to mind, Veketh cursed, "That backstabbing garbage!"

Volmir hunched itself onto all fours and began a charging attack. Veketh raised a shield to block the beast and sent it flying back. His shield wavered and Veketh realized he hadn't fully yet recovered.

Volmir eyed its prey and tried to encircle him but, realizing how tight the corridor was for its huge body, slammed into the walls, brick and metal flying about. As Veketh moved to avoid the debris, Volmir's arm swung downwards and cleaved through Veketh's shield. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Veketh fired wind and lightning from either palm to send the beast away.

Volmir tanked the attack and regained his footing, practically unphased by Veketh's best.

"Marina went and got me killed in the end…" Veketh began to laugh at his own pitiable end, "Ain't that like her…?"

The snarling and growling from Volmir only ceased when a familiar face shimmered above it and stabbed downwards.

Veketh watched Luke wrest his blade from the remains of the beast's disheveled head and glare at him, "If you want to beat the Gang, you'd need allies. Instead you leave me to die."

"Naturally," Veketh seethed, "You killed my team!"

Luke faced away from him, "Your orders did. Barath is mine. You can hang back in case the gang comes running."

Veketh folded his arms and when Luke moved onwards into the mansion, sighed and shimmered away.

…

Luke's entrance to the central foyer began with a bang and a whimper as several lesser demons were flung back by an explosion of pink. Barath turned to face the intruder and found himself surprised, "You? I expected Veketh."

"Your pet is dead…." Luke threw the collar down to Barath's feet and filled his body with energy, "You stand no chance against me."

Barath snickered as he reached for his whip, "Oh, ye of little faith…" Pulling a small tincture out from his pocket, Barath cackled louder, "The perfected Roseblood is ready. I shall be the first of the new wave of demonic power!"

Luke rolled his eyes, "But I'm right here."

…

Ailyn's orbing brought the whole Cuentas family to the outskirts of the mansion she had sensed Luke's energy at.

"Ailyn… What's going on?" Mia asked with concern in her voice, "This is… Old Valentine."

"Luke's in trouble… He's after a gang of demons and… And I think he plans to lose." Ailyn explained as best as she could between haggard breaths.

Geiney rushed forward, "Why would he do that!? What happened!?"

Ailyn gave Geiney a pained look, "His dad is dead… And he's blaming himself."

"No, really, what the hell happened!?" Geiney shouted again, drawing attention from the one watching over them all.

Marina shimmered into view before them, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Josh stepped forward in front of the others, "A demon; and a strong one at that. What business do you have here?"

"The siblings have a challenge awaiting them. I'm here to ensure the parents stay in line," Marina snapped her fingers as the air around them cracked and exploded, lightning shooting in every direction around them. "Besides, after destroying your mansion and your poorly-trained staff and students… I wanted to test the masters."

The wording quickly forced Josh into an overwhelming rage, "You're with the Demon Fists!? You destroyed our home!?"

Tilting her head, Marina scoffed at his demeanor, "If you just trained them right, we couldn't have been able to anyways."

Mia rushed to her husband's side in an attempt to quell his rage, "Josh, don't let her get to you. We can't split up right now."

"If you delay, the boy will die," Donavihk appeared beside his master, "Even if you win here, another innocent will pay with his life. Why do you think we keep him around?"

Sara stepped forward, "You used him as bait!? How many demons did he kill!? You let him destroy your own kind for this!?"

"You're questioning how demons die? Isn't that a net good for you?" Marina laughed at Sara's miserable expression, "So, what will it be?"

Ailyn glanced around at the Cuentas family as they all ran through their minds several options.

Finally, Josh stood tall, "Mia, we'll fight her." Facing his children, he smiled, "We'll win, too."

"Understood, dear." Mia knelt down to the ground and let the magic in the air and the very earth fill her, "It's been a while…"

Geiney yelled "Rapido!" and charged towards the front stairs of the mansion, his two sisters and Whitelighter close behind.

Josh and Mia had been glaring at Marina for the longest time.

"Are we going to fight or not?" Marina's voice sounded desperate, the cry of a child throwing a tantrum.

"Aren't you looking forward to get kicked around? You must be very brave to face us." Mia's teasing had no effect on Marina.

"You could say I have been looking forward to this fight. I could fight the strongest of demons but that's no fun. What good is a battle if your power can destroy demons with a snap of your fingers? Besides, all my thrills have come from witches. They fight so desperately clinging to their morals and it makes using that against them so much more fun. Demons typically play for only themselves. People? Sometimes they fight to the end. Sometimes they take their own lives. Sometimes they kill their loved ones to survive. Fascinating, right?"

"We just want to help the boy in there." Josh hadn't met the boy yet, but if Marina wanted him dead it was his duty to save him.

"The faster we get to fighting the faster you can help him." She sang.

The couple nodded to each other and Mia motioned to the enemy with her hand, giving Josh the message for him to attack first.

The two assumed a battle stance. Josh stood facing his opponent, his arms limp at his side. Marina jumped to Josh to deliver a kick but Josh slid under her leg, bringing his own upwards. Marina parried him and gripped his shin, roughly throwing him aside. Josh winced as he stood, trying to keep the edge.

Marina brought a downward chop upon him; Josh seized the arm, arched his back, and using the momentum in his hips and arms, threw Marina over his shoulder. Marina's body slammed into the ground, a hard thud echoing outside the manor.

Josh gave a little grin as Marina got up. Marina tested the waters with several quick jabs that Josh easily deflected until Marina connected a low kick and a push kick to Josh's waist. Josh was thrown off balance and barely ducked low when a third kick came flying his way. He retaliated by striking her unprotected waist and throwing a second to her jaw, a kick into her flank knocking her around.

Marina attacked with two fast jab attacks aimed at Josh's throat. Josh pivoted on his feet and dodged the first attack and on the second attack, he locked his hand around her wrist and tried to overtake her to the ground. She held her own as she stepped forward, the two locked in a battle to throw the other off balance. Josh took two steps back and in a swift motion he swept her feet from underneath her body, using his arms to slam her body to the ground. Because of the momentum Marina took the full brunt of the force exerted on them both. She gave a huff as her back hit the floor, the wind escaping from her lungs.

Josh took the moment to begin punching Marina's face several times. When Marina regained her senses, she threw Josh over her body. Josh recovered fast and backed away.

The thrill of the fight made Marina sneer like a wild animal playing with their prey. She was only toying with him, savoring the flavor of the fight. Josh was skilled in a martial art, one she was not sure the name of. This was the heart of a warrior, the leader of the Cuentas School of Magic. Oh, she picked a very good contestant.

"Good. You fight well. I'm almost honored to be fighting someone with your skill of physical combat. But how's your magical combat?"

Marina threw her arms at Josh and shot two streams of fire towards him. Josh was forced to use his two favored abilities. Using his powers he lowered the temperature down to freezing around him and increased the gravity around him as well. The fire froze and fell to the ground before it could reach him.

Marina felt the change and looked around, dropping her arms. It took her a moment to figure out what had happened and chuckled. She was impressed at his magical abilities as well.

"So you can control the temperatures and gravity. That is a coveted power to have. Too bad I don't have anything on me to take your power away. I could use a power like that." Marina teased

"You'll have to take it from my cold dead hands." He retorted.

Marina shrugged, "Perhaps I will."

Josh held his arms out on either side of his body and used his power to change the barometric pressure of the battlefield, dropping the pressure tremendously. Winds began whipping in front of Marina. Josh exerted great force to keep the wind from striking him. She shielded her face with her arms for a moment and shot fire back; the wind carried it right back around without much effort on Josh's part. She couldn't use her power in these winds. She needed to change the direction of the fight.

With a bit of difficulty she closed the distance between her and Josh and threw a diversionary punch, gripping his throat when Josh blocked. Taking the shot, Josh lowered himself to the floor, breaking her opponents balance. With a thrust he threw Marina into a corner.

She got up and shot a fire ball in his direction, knocking him into the very spot where she once stood. She hurled another fireball at him; with the way the wind was whipping at him, the fireball felt like it was shot out of a cannon and caused him to fly a few feet into the air, landing flat on his back. He willed the barometric pressure to increase until the winds ceased to flow. He groaned, getting up and holding his injured chest where the fireball had hit him. She used his own power against him. This was not good; the demon learned quickly.

She brought her hands closer, allowing a stream of fire to connect from each hand. The intensity of the flame grew ever further, eventually turning blue. Marina smirked devilishly as she shot a finer flame, similar to a blow torch, towards Josh. Josh reacted fast and brought his hands up to shield himself from a bright source of light. His power allowed him to increase the precipitation a thousand times allowing for the water and sleet to act as a shield. Water vapor rose from the connection of the precipitation rapidly like a pot full of water. The attack didn't last more than a few seconds but when Josh brought the shield down, water and small pebbles of ice coated the ground.

…

Luke held his right arm up and glared at Barath. The red lines covering the sickening demon's body unnerved him, but not enough to dissuade him. Jumping under another swing of his deadly whip and jumping forth, Luke finally plunged the blade into Barath's chest.

Barath howled in agony as a familiar voice left Luke's lips, "Time to return to me, brother."

"You may have killed me, but the Gang has the perfected formula…" A grin took hold of the demon's face as he faded into Luke, "You should have absorbed Jebediah when you could have…"

Barath's fading away changed the expression of his killer minutely, if at all. _Killing him didn't change anything. Of course it wouldn't…_

Luke turned for the door, his emptiness growing. Bending down, Luke lifted the whip Barath used off of the floor. "The Torturer's Whip might be the cruelest weapon of them all."

Throwing it into the air and shimmering it out, Luke finished collecting the sixth Blades weapon.

Deciding to end the day by heading home, Luke dropped down from the small bannister he had been standing on for the tail end of the fight.

As his feet touched the ground, an attack out of nowhere destroyed his right side. Luke collapsed to the floor reaching for his wound and giving a hateful glare to his attacker.

"Too easy. Barath was weak if this child killed him," Ariel glanced around the room at the scars of their battle, "That kid might have been toying with him. It's a shame I can't just kill him now."

Arvic and Darren shimmered in beside her, "If we did, them siblings would know. Then we couldn't end this little war right here." Arvic calmly assuaged her concerns.

"War or not, we'll win easy. First the kids get taken down, then the parents, then our clients. Finally, we can retire!" Darren's excitement shook the tense mood the wrong way.

"Retire if you want. I have people to take down," Ariel glared in the direction of the doorway, "Veketh for one."

Arvic waved his hand, "They're coming closer. Let's hide."

The three shimmered into corners of the room and set a ward about them to conceal their presence. The trap had been set.

"Josh, tag me in." Mia said, eager to take down Marina, seeing as Josh could use the help. Josh nodded, turning to face Marina once more. He closed the distance with a flying kick which Marina evaded. With the distance closed, Josh grappled Marina, and broke Marina's balance by turning his body outward and pulling with all his strength. Marina flipped and rotated midair and landed hard on her side. Marina watched stars dance around her.

Josh reached Mia's position and gave her a low five, tagging her into the fight. Mia raced forward with vigor and jumped up, pile-driving herself into Marina. Marina groaned from the unforeseen attack and pushed Mia away from her.

Mia, using her knowledge of mixed martial arts combat, began her own attacks towards Marina. She tried different combinations of hand attacks that always followed a kick. It took Marina a few blows to begin defending herself. Marina did keep up with Mia but her inability to out speed Mia meant she still took attacks occasionally. Marina was practically cornered as she was relentlessly attacked.

When Mia's stamina finally started draining and her attacks slowed, Marina counter attacked with her own style, sending waves of kicks in flurries at her weakened opponent. Mia kept up for a little while before her arms felt the wear of battle and they grew heavier with every deflection or block. Eventually Mia was roundhouse-kicked to the ground.

"Come on, witch. Your husband lasted longer than you in hand to hand combat." Marina taunted.

Mia finally lost her cool and in the heat of her anger she forgot the pain and numbness in her arms. She retaliated with grapples and take downs. Marina was inexperienced when it came to take downs as Mia noticed with Josh's fight. Using that knowledge to her advantage, she went for grappling and tackles whenever she could. Sometimes she would have to change her strategy to hand attacks before she got the chance to do it again. But Marina was smarter than Mia gave her credit and she tried looking for the little ticks that signaled when Mia was going to tackle.

After a fake out, Mia pinned Marina to the ground and gave her two strong jabs to Marina's cheek. Marina pushed Mia's shoulder up and off of her and kicked Mia away. Marina righted herself with a kick-up and regained her stance.

Marina couldn't help but to admit that Mia was a stronger physical fighter than her in her current position. But she was just toying with the witch. She knew she could easily beat Mia, but where was the fun in that? Marina changed strategies. She drew herself closer and went for a punch and kick at the same time. Mia blocked the hand strike, but the kick caused her to grunt from the force of it, her knee buckling, as if it was on fire, numb to the toes.

Marina brought her hands together and connected them with a stream of fire. Mia knew what the attack was and took two strides back and summoned a shield. The blowtorch-like flame hit the shield with terrifying force, forcing Mia to shift herself lower to not be knocked off balance.

"Fire? Are you a fire starter?" Marina teased.

"I'm much more than that." In both hands she summoned a fireball and a windball. With a little wave, she released both. Marina blocked both with a fiery shield of her own.

"Nice try," Marina laughed, "Shields are basic spells for demons, too."

Mia summoned another fireball and windball, smashing them together. The ball grew three times as big and the force whipped Mia's hair out of her face. Marina's shield withstood the new attack but the knockback sent her flying to the ground.

Marina gave a frustrated scream, "How many times will you throw me to the ground!?" She realized it was one of the reasons why they gained the upper hand for the moment,

Marina had had enough and summoned a fireball in her hand. She tossed it in the air and with her other hand shot a stream of fire towards it. Mia watched, having no idea what this attack even did. The stream of fire caused the fireball to inflate a couple feet in diameter and when it had reached its peak, it sent a wave of fire towards Mia and Josh. Mia waved her hand up in the air and materialized a wall of solid ice. The wave impacted the ice and exploded, causing large chunks of ice to fly towards the couple.

Marina chuckled, "Had enough, witch? I was just getting started."

"It's not over for us, either!" Mia got back on her feet and tried for another attack. She waved her hands and summoned a wave of fire and wind together. The two waves swirled around, gaining speed. A smaller version of a tornado appeared and Marina tried to dissipate the attack but she was caught in the vortex and flung towards the outer mansion wall, a sickening thud ringing out. The impact where her head hit caused a small chunk of brick to crumble, leaving a red and pink colored brick exposed.

Marina launched various combinations of her attacks. For every two fireballs she shot at Mia, she hurled a stream of fire towards the witch. The two were evenly matched, but Mia seemed to have the upper hand as she created another ball made of fire and wind and launched it towards Marina. Marina was hit dead on and flung towards another part of the wall.

"Had enough, demon? I think it's time to vanquish you." Josh stood next to Mia, ready to cast an improvised vanquishing spell on the demon…

"Luke!?" Geiney sprinted into the room the second he noticed his friend crumpled on the floor, hands practically glued to a deep wound on his side. "Why's he not healing?"

Luz rushed to their side and inspected his injuries, "He's unconscious. The magic won't work as strongly."

"Where's the attackers?" Sara's suspicions grew until she sensed a presence. Jumping back, a woman she had never met rocketed into the ground where she just stood. "You lured us here!"

Swinging forward, Sara managed to strike the woman back into the wall.

Luz stood to join her sister but was unable to stop another demon from pushing her away from her brother. Geiney looked up in time to see a grinning young male demon approach, "I'm Darren. You're my new plaything."

Geiney quickly picked Luke up and turned for the doorway but the third demon blocked the way. "Arvic at your service. Our boss wants a simple fight. Three of us, three of you. Consider this our one mercy."

The female demon regained her composure and pointed at Sara, "You managed to dodge. I'm curious about you."

Sara powered the shield around her body and gave a bold reply, "I can do far more than just that."

"Enlighten me. Feel Ariel's wrath!" Ariel charged her own aura around her and leapt forward with such blinding speed Sara could only block.

Luz stared down Arvic, her body tense and bristling at the thought of fighting alone.

"I'll wait for the others." Arvic pointed to the other fights, "I'm not one for combat. I'm a dashing gambler at heart."

Luz raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Yeah, a demonic gang member's not capable of being both."

Arvic shrugged her off, "Don't be so judgemental now. If your siblings can't beat those crazies, you won't live long after anyways."

"Why are you working with them then?"

"The same reason you fight us. We were never really given much of a choice, you and I. I'd just rather not fight you if it's unnecessary."

Luz proudly smiled at her siblings, "Oh, it'll be necessary."

Geiney felt his heart stop when Darren appeared before him and pushed him to the ground, "You're a wind user. Unlike me…" Darren coated his body in wind and moved with such speed and fluidity Geiney's eyes struggled to follow, "You're not one to experiment, huh?"

A quick palm strike sent Geiney flying into a nearby wall.

"Ow…" He muttered while getting up. He retaliated by trying to tackle Darren, but he maneuvered out of the way at the last second, slapping the boy in the back. Geiney tripped from the force into the dirty floor. He felt a warm, tingling pain on his arm; he had scraped it on the ground.

"Stand still!" Geiney screamed in frustration. Darren smugly grinned with satisfaction after dodging a flying kick Geiney randomly attempted.

Darren shook his head, rooted to a spot nearby. "I know you can do better than that." His cooing voice infuriated Geiney further.

A well-aimed wind ball flew towards his direction. Geiney watched as the attack neared his opponent, only to have his hopes shatter before his eyes when Darren smoothly brought his hand up and stopped the attack.

"How!?" He squealed.

"Because I'm better. The power of the wind flows through my very being. Your wind is like a gust; it doesn't faze anyone and doesn't get very far. Let me show you what real wind can do."

Darren rolled his arm around and a strong gust of wind flew towards Geiney. He brought up a shield but the attack pushed him effortlessly until his back hit the wall.

"He's strong… How can I beat him if my attacks don't faze him?" Geiney muttered to himself.

Geiney tried to change strategies; he threw another wind attack at Darren and crept closer. Geiney tried for a second tackle, succeeding in taking his opponent to the ground. The boy drew his arm back and struck Darren in the face. His satisfaction grew when his knuckles cracked against Darren's skull. Another blow and another crack. When Geiney tried to wind his arm back for another strike, Darren used his power to throw Geiney up in the air. When Geiney was falling he saw Darren rotate his arm around for another attack. Geiney created a shield and threw it towards Darren. His shield slammed into Darren and before he gave his victory cry his body hit the ground. Both Darren and Geiney lay motionless on the ground.

Geiney rolled on his back, and gave a pitiful moan. His hands touched his ribs where he felt the numbing sensation of the impact. He slowly got up momentarily forgetting he was in the middle of the fight. Darren and Geiney turned to each other; their eyes connected. Darren hadn't had the wind knocked out of him and prepared another attack.

Geiney brought up his shield as he was attacked with transparent teal colored tendrils, his hands at his sides. The tendrils were created by powerful gusts making small cyclones that moved like water through the air, whipping at Geiney and nearly shattering his shield with every blow. Geiney stood his ground to no avail, finally being knocked aside, no more than a ragdoll to be played around with by his opponent.

Geiney's body rolled around on the ground. He used the nearby wall for support to regain his footing. This was not a fight he was going to win. He needed to be stronger. He wished he was stronger, but it wasn't like there was a wind teacher he could learn from…

A teacher to learn from… Geiney all but laughed; was the answer actually that simple? Geiney had to focus his mind on his enemy. Maybe a little experimentation was all he needed. That was Darren's advice anyways. But if he messed up, it was all over for him.

Geiney tested Darren's reaction time; he threw a wind ball and Darren deflected it back to Geiney. Geiney focused his power around himself at a center point. His eyes focused on the ball coming towards him and with a cry he seized the energy. Darren lifted an eyebrow. Geiney cried victoriously and channeled some more of his power through it, enlarging it twofold.

"Darren! Catch!" Geiney threw the ball again and Darren lifted a hand up. The ball stuck to the shield and Darren threw it back. Geiney once again focused his power and seized the ball midair. He spun around making the ball grow in size once more. He tossed the attack back to Darren.

Darren moved his arm around him and threw a concentrated gust of wind, sending it back. For a split second he doubted himself; could I control it? Geiney seized the attack midair again and finally flung it with all of his force.

Darren frowned; he had caught on to Geiney's adequate experimentation. Darren waved a hand and the wind faded into nothing.

"Stupid," Darren shook his head several times, "Wind flows through me. I can disrupt the flow at any time." Darren laughed, his eyes closing as he held his face, "Fighting fire with fire is a fool's game!"

Geiney stood in front of Darren and rotated his body, a wide spin kick connected to Darren's jaw. Darren stepped sideways and crashed into a statue bust that fell onto the stairs and shattered right before Darren fell back onto the shards.

Now in an enraged frenzy, Darren jumped up, "Cheap shotting son of a bitch!"

"Hey, what was that thing you did with your hands? Like this?" Geiney spun his arm around and opened his palm and a blast of wind erupted into the unprepared demon's face, flinging him into the wall of the mansion, "Can't disrupt the flow if you're not focused."

Darren tried to get to his feet once more, "That stings like hell… You're learning."

"It was your advice. You told me I had to experiment so that's what I did." Geiney gave a malevolent grin. It was time to end him. Remembering an attack Luke had taught him, Geiney summoned wind into one last ball and spread it thin. Small razor-thin waves were flung at Darren. Geiney visibly saw three rips appear in his shirt. Darren doubled over and Geiney rolled his arm again and sent a second wave of wind towards the enemy. Darren was too slow to stop the attack and flew helplessly against the wall, collapsing to the floor with a loud bang.

Geiney groaned, "Yeah. That had to hurt." Geiney stepped closer and grabbed a candlestick from an overturned table. He poked Darren in the cheek a couple times to see if Darren was really unconscious.

"They're holding their own, it seems." Arvic sighed and straightened his body, "So, why don't you just waste everything you've got on me and I can win and leave?"

Luz paused. Did he know her power? "You want me to just hit you with my best?"

Arvic laughed at her incredulous expression, "I'm not one for drawn out fights. Not all demons fight the same."

"If you're sure…" Luz trailed off and focused all of her energy inside her. This ability of hers had taken Gabbriel down and brought Mike off of his high horse. Hoping her practice was enough; Luz held out a hand and unleashed power unto Arvic.

Sara rocked back and forth on her feet, her arms up in front of her face. She eyed her opponent as they slowly walked in a circle, matching her every step. Ariel was a tough opponent. Sara had been on the offensive but she had gathered enough information about her opponent to be able to defeat her. Or so she hoped.

Sara faked out a punch and kicked Ariel's leg, causing it to move back. She kicked the other leg and jumped up, punching her hard in the face. Ariel took the hit like it didn't faze her. She tried to counter attack with some hand chops and elbow attacks. Sara deflected the elbow attacks, matching her with a few of her own.

Ariel dodged and dipped as Sara's elbow flew and hit nothing. Ariel kicked Sara in the gut, pushing her back. The two continued to attack each other, but Sara realized she was only wasting energy. She stepped back and gave her opponent a quick scan. Ariel was not well balanced.

Sara grappled Ariel and managed to get underneath Ariel's arms. Sara found herself on the floor.

"I was expecting a much more entertaining fight. Perhaps I was wrong about you. You're weak."

Sara, in her anger, swept out at Ariel's legs, narrowly missing her target when she jumped out of harm's way. Sara kicked herself up into a crouch stance. She tried to attack her with some boxing combinations but Ariel blocked most of her attacks. The few that landed were returned in kind, the force fields generated by their magic shifting and sometimes shuddering from the force of the blows. Sara grunted when she was struck in four joints of her arms. With Sara momentarily stunned, Ariel took advantage and locked Sara's arm with her knees and her hands locked on Sara's wrist.

She rhythmically pulled Sara's arm the wrong way, hoping for Sara to lose stamina. The flashes of hot pain brought tears to Sara's face. Her opponent was strong indeed. If it had been any other fighter, she was sure Ariel would have literally ripped their limbs from their sockets.

Sara rolled forward on the floor until she was on her back when she kicked Ariel in the face. Ariel let go of her arm and Sara brought it to her chest. Her moment of relief was short-lived as she tried for a different grapple. Sara went even lower and lifted Ariel's legs up; Ariel lost balance and hit the floor.

With a twist of her body, Ariel's legs were awkwardly on Sara's shoulder. She used her foot on Ariel's lower back to keep her locked there. Ariel struggled while Sara used this time to think of a different combat strategy.

Ariel was strong against her when they were toe-to-toe. However, Ariel had trouble once she was on the floor. Ariel struggled until she got one leg free and soon wrestled the other from Sara's grasp. She tried to sweep Sara from underneath but Sara rolled over her body, foreseeing the attack. Sara dodged a kick from the right and when Ariel brought her leg around for another, Sara grabbed her foot, stepping forward and pushing her to the ground. Ariel brought her bare feet up, but Sara took control of her ankle and stepped to the side. She kicked Ariel four times across her face. Sara then grabbed her ankle with both hands and tossed her like a rag doll into the hard marble stairs.

Sara jumped high and delivered a powerful knee strike to Ariel's back. Ariel lost her breath, wheezing for air. Without mercy, Sara grabbed a fistful of her hair and began beating Ariel into submission. When Sara's knuckles began to tingle, she smashed Ariel's face into the stairs once more.

Ariel lay motionless, occasionally giving out a small squeak of pain as her body was sprawled out into the ground.

Arvic withstood the attack and seemed disappointed, "Really, Luz? That's all?" Arvic glanced over at his defeated cohorts and shamefully avoided looking at anyone, "Today's just the worst. Fine, I guess I'm finishing it myself."

With his guard dropped, Luz released the actual energy boiling inside her. As Arvic was consumed by the power, he realized she had managed to learn to control the expenditure of the energy.

"Clever girl…" Arvic felt his body begin to fade; before he could go quietly, a familiar blade pressed into his back, "Et tu, Veketh!?"

Veketh sneered and spat to the side, "Go back to where you belong."

As Arvic faded into the blade, Luz watched silently, unable to muster any energy to fight. Veketh actively ignored her, waiting for Geiney and Sara to run to Luke before calmly approaching Darren.

Stirring from his wounds, Darren cursed at the sight of Veketh, "I'm not goin' back into that blade!"

"I don't give a damn what you want." Veketh coldly twisted the blade into Darren's chest and added the third member to the blade. Without a word, he continued by slaying Ariel as well.

Sara finally noticed him and asked, "Who are you, exactly?"

Veketh smirked with a gleeful innocence, "I'm your ally for now. This Roseblood Gang has three members left and the location of the leader lies with your family."

"Our family?" Geiney asked with his attention garnered.

"Javier Cuentas, renowned Mexican revolutionary and freedom fighter. He's privy to the knowledge of the leader of the gang and, without him, I can't break the curse of the Roseblood. It's a dire chemical that can only be harvested in the bodies of normal humans, don't you know?" With an atypical cruelness, Veketh pointed at the reawakening Luke, "He knows what it does firsthand. A shame it came at such a high cost, right, kid?" Without another word, Veketh shimmered out of the mansion.

Marina laughed manically and used her power to lift herself from the floor into a standing position.

"Please, witches. I was just toying with you. You have rather pleased me with this fight, but you're right. It's time to end it. I've had my fun."

Mia and Josh ran towards Marina and began their physical assault against the demon. She was not wrong; Marina was an even better skilled fighter than she had let on. Both Josh and Mia were tricked, and they expended their energy into the fight too early.

Marina used her opponent's attacks against each other, allowing her to take control of the fight. Josh tried to go for a grapple, but she moved her hands underneath his, took two steps back, dropped on her back and using her foot threw Josh over her body. He collided with Mia and the two tumbled unto the ground.

The two stood up, rubbing their heads.

With a nod to each other, Josh lifted one hand, focusing his power into it. Marina felt the change and grunted, falling into a somewhat crouched position. Josh had increased gravity around Marina. Mia created another tornado with her power and Marina was sucked into its vortex spun mercilessly around and launched through a boarded up window. The boards broke and Marina was lost inside.

Mia and Josh breathed heavily from their usage of power finally catching up with them. A concentrated blast of fire was shot out of the window and Mia and Josh took cover away from the flame. Marina emerged mostly unscathed by the attack and looking rather annoyed.

The witch couple knew this fight was coming to an end and probably not looking too good for them. Marina shot a stream of fire out of her hands at both of her opponents. They dodged for cover. Running around the battlefield, Marina could not aim at two separate targets at the same time and had to alternate between targets. The two parents kept their distance as Marina tried to shoot at either one, sometimes focusing on one until a ball of magic was sent catapulting her way.

Mia and Josh settled by throwing simple attacks at Marina, trying to wear her down, if only for a moment. Mia threw energy balls at Marina and Josh settled on creating barriers of precipitation around them in case they were hit by the stream of fire. When Marina tired of chasing them with fire, she began throwing fireballs at them. The fireballs hit the barrier and failed to break through, though the strain weakened them. Marina noticed this and began to relentlessly attack Josh. Josh tried to thicken the shield but the fireballs were destroying any progress and she was not giving him the chance to recover either. Mia tried to cover him but an unexpected stream of fire hit her and she crashed into the nearby wall.

When Josh's barrier disintegrated, a quick fireball to the chest sent him towards the wall.

"No…" Mia moaned and fell forward as one last fireball hit her in the stomach, the pain too great for her to handle.

"It will not end like this…" Josh promised before he too passed out, his back towards the brick wall.

"Goodnight!" Marina taunted.

"Luke!" Geiney rushed over and knelt by his friend. Luke drifted in and out of consciousness not willing to go down like this. "We need to do something!" Geiney cried, putting pressure on the wound, an action his sister had taught him to do.

"What can we do? Luke absorbed the magical energies of multiple demons. He has become powerful in his own right. There's no telling what will happen if we cast a spell to remove his powers." Sara explained.

Luz knelt next to Geiney and gently took his hands away, inspecting the wound, "There are signs of healing. It's slow but he should be fine after a night of rest. Considering his powers, I wouldn't be surprised if he awoke any minute now." She took out a handkerchief from her back pocket and placed it on the wound to help stop the small amount of bleeding. Luke stirred from the pressure, the pain catching up to him.

Luz continued, "Geiney, if Luke adjusted to those powers without dying before, then there is some hope for him. Usually, when innocent people obtain demonic powers, one of two things will happen. The first scenario is their body tries to reject the powers, but in doing so it contaminates their mind. This makes people psychologically and emotionally unstable; they go crazy. The second typically occurs in those with stronger constitutions; they become evil and it's possible they can be lulled into a demonic state. If they give in, they can make the change."

"Then Luke will become a demon?" Geiney whimpered.

"No," The siblings turned their head to see Ailyn walking in, "Up until now he had no trouble controlling those powers. I believe his heart played a major part into this, his strength of will. But that won't last long, I'm afraid. If those demons were telling the truth, Luke may have been in a terrible situation. He mentioned earlier that it was his fault. With his heart broken, those powers he has been saving up could become his destruction. I don't think that you guys can do anything for him now. Our only option left is going to see Sandra, the Elder. Only the Elders can help him out now."

Ailyn thought about something and reached out hovering one hand over the wound. Luz removed the handkerchief from the wound and allowed Ailyn to heal the boy. Ailyn's hand glowed, but she pulled her hand away when a shock of energy shot out of the wound and hit her hand. She shook her hand, the numbing sensation began to take over her hand from the sudden burst of pain.

"I knew it. I can't heal him anymore. Those powers are interfering with my magic. Luke will have to heal himself with his own powers."

"Let's take him to the Elders." Geiney declared.

Ailyn nodded, "I can take him to a safe place. From there I can call Sandra down, but when I do I won't be able to help until I'm finished with Luke and Sandra."

"No, I'm going with you." Geiney stepped forward.

Sara saw the look of determination on his face and suddenly felt guilty. She pushed Luke this far. None of this would have happened had it not been for her stupid pride. She sent Luke to his death bed, but even though the boy knew he would die, he still fought on. She felt the need to cry; a pitiful irony that Luke would be the stronger one of the two. While he acted careless at times, he managed to take down an entire group of powerful demons and still fought on to keep his friends safe. Even now he continued to fight against all odds. If not for the perilous situation she would have been proud of him, but she was scared for the child.

"I'll go too." Sara said, not looking at either one of them, but the crack in her voice was heard by everyone there. "I have to apologize to him. I am to blame for Luke being in this situation. I dared him to do this. I pushed him over the edge… Looks like I can't do anything right after all."

"Sara, don't say that. It's not too late. We will get Luke back. I'll go too." Luz nodded to Ailyn.

"Very well. This is a serious situation; if any other Elder gets involved we could be facing more problems than we can handle."

"Why is that?" Geiney questioned.

"Because this situation is something the Elders take to the extreme. Who knows what can happen if someone else gets involved or worse other magical entities…" Ailyn placed a hand on the wounded child and Geiney placed his hands on Luke. Luz and Sara placed a hand on both of Ailyn's shoulders and together they orbed out to Ailyn's safe place. Geiney could only shudder at the thought of other celestial entities doing something to Luke…


End file.
